



' 




•v;'c-:i*;i^ ' 






# 










■';;6 ; ; 






;-;;-:;v:.; ; V-W:;Vi:i:!:;-:::,::;^>.V:, 

iSl',':: i: ■:■■,.;■ :-:^;,. v. 



¥-Wl)^ ! -t ; <-^' ■■■;.(<■ ^''> 1 '-; ;:! ;'"'' if! ''-i f: ' r . i -''« : ^ ; ^, ■■■'■■/■ 

i^#;^f-;. mm 



■ 



'■:■■■ 



■■:■■-':■■■ ■'■■'■"..■■'■ ' : ^^--:^^f" ''■ 

:•■',■::.■■;; ■.■'■•!-: , , , r- ?■■'■. ■ 
/>■•;'' '■■'■■.■,■ ■ . ■■;;.;;■:•■-..• 

Kflft:':- ':■:■■;■ 

■: : :«:;: i l *;-■ m - v v : . ^S$k 

:-:.■; ,;; •■■■-.'■.■.■;,. ;.;,,,v;.i '.'.-_ /,,: W;yS/ 
v-:' ,.■..■■■:>■■.■:; ■.;,.■■■,-. Y^'S-i 1 ,^' 

:• 








Glass. 
Book. 






330A3ZO0 3100 



ADAM 



\Emvk \ | 



13 1)0 Ijl.'O 
3I)OA3900\3SOO 



I600\IJ00 1gOO 



._■-.■. 



1900 1*00 , 



i b/PJ.1 i 






J/ 



FLOOO 

j Xmro'd j Chedotfli 



■ jm i| 



i!/fV\ 



■fife*)— H 






[ hJrtwlJOTrihit^ 



! I 



y.;<w :h;iii>\:;jiio \jmo\3hoo -to 
coo soowoo \30u\200 tc 



■$ \p§k I 



nun -noo\f:io • two 



It Sooratss j 
I I Herodotus 

i I -Anistoile 

i i : I 



yoj- wi/.r 



*U%$4^' 









rt 



/m r/?/>i /f c ma 1 



I "f f ; H>-^ 



Tr 



if i'^Ai I *r >?;/? r.Ofi\ powe/i 



jerom 



• 1100 ; 



S 



^ 



^ 1 4 f y 



flwT^Capet 



/»cf.f' | ,)t„i-t; ;W ;;,.f 






X 



\ZoydhL 



Skakespefiry? 

^ \ \NewUm- 



"1 JamfSt 



PhittpJV ftflh 1 \ ?fal 



fonstanOni-Xu [ ™w 



-„W/ 



w.*^ ; /-^^ I op/hi\o 



jjy 



" CONSOUOA TION 



THE 



TRAIL OF HISTORY: 



HISTORY OF RELIGION AND EMPIRE 

IN PARALLEL 

FROM THE CREATION TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

WITH 

% listeria! Diagram. 



\ o ?\ BY 



i { \ 



REV. T. J M. M E R B I M A N 









JOHNSON, Vt.: 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 

I860. 



y * //■ 



S~l o 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18G0, by 
Rev. T. M. MEREIMAN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Vermont. 



f 1. 



Andover : 
Electrotyped and Printed by W. F. Draper. 



(sift 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The plan of this Work is such, that persons will find it 
will serve a very good purpose as a Reading-book of History 
for those who have not leisure to make History a study. 
It will serve equally well the purpose of a Text-book in 
all institutions of learning, from the College and Sabbath- 
School to the District School, especially if used in connection 
with the large Diagram. The fundamental plan and facts 
of history are so clearly and compactly arranged, as to secure 
a rapid acquisition of historic information. 

A little confusion might be thought to exist by the fre- 
quent repetition of the " Ages" in the Contents, particularly 
in the History of Empire. But all is made perfectly clear 
when we recollect that there are several different empires, 
and that they begin and end at different points of time, as 



XII ADVERTISEMENT. 

can be seen on the Diagram. Hence, by taking up any- 
one Empire, and following it out, and noting the Periods 
at which it passes from one "Age" to another, the apparent 
confusion merges into harmony. 

The division of History into "Ages" is a new one, and 
very convenient in two respects. First, it separates the chaos 
of history into a few large and plain features, distinctly 
marked by the prevailing sentiment of that date. The sec- 
ond advantage is, the whole is so easily remembered. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

PREFACE, . 29 

LESSONS OF HISTORY, 33 

SOURCES OF HISTORY, . . . .... 34 

BOOK I. 
HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

I. -AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

FROM CREATION TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. 

SUBJECT — SACRED HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. -FROM CREATION TO THE FLOOD; 1—1656 A. M. AND 4004-2348 B. 0. 

The Bible, 37 

Cosmogony, .......... 37 

Creation, .......... 38 

Eden, 38 

Adam and Eve, ......... 38 

Temptation and Fall, . . . . . . .39 

Curse and Expulsion, ........ 39 

Cain and Abel, ......... 39 

Setli, Enoch, and Noah, ........ 40 

Flood and Ark, . . 40,41 

PERIOD II. -FROM THE FLOOD TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH; 1656 A. M. AND 
2348 B. C., TO 2365 A. M., AND 1639 B. C. 

Noah, 41 

Shem, . . . . . . . . . .43 

Abraham, .......... 44 

Isaac, .......... 46 

Jacob, ....... 4 , 47 

Joseph, . . ... . . . . .53 

Job, 59 

Interregnum, .......... 60 



xrv 



CONTENTS 



II. -AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

FROM DEATH OF JOSEPH TO CHRIST. 

SACRED HISTORY. 



PERIOD I. — FROM THE DEATH OF JOSEPH TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA; 
2365 A. M. AND 1639 B. C, TO 2561 A. M. AND 1443 B. C 



Moses, 
Joshua, 



PAGE 

61 
67 



PERIOD II. — FROM JOSHUA TO THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON; 2561 A. M. AND 
1443 B. C, TO 3000 A. M. AND 1004 B. C. 



Interregnum, 

Othniel, 

Ehud, Sham gar, 

Deborah and Barak, 

Gideon, 

Abimelech, 

Tola; Jair, . 

Jephthah, 

Ibzan; Elon; Abdon, 

Samson, 

Eli, . 



Samuel, 

Saul, . 

David, 

Gad; Nathan, 

Solomon, 

PERIOD m. — FROM 
3000 A. M 



Solomon, 

The Ten Tribes, 

Ahijah, 

Jeroboam I., 

Iddo, 

Omri, 

Ahab 

Micaiah, 

Ahaziah, 

Jehoram, 

Jehu, 

Jehoahaz, 

Joash ; Jeroboam II., 

Zechariah; Shallum, 

Menahim; Pekaiah, 

Pekah; Hoshea, 

Samaritans, 
Tribes of Jubah and Benjamin 

Kehoboam, 



SOLOMON'S 
AND 1004 B 



TEMPLE TO THE BABYLONISH 
C, TO 3416 A. M. AND 588 B. C 



73 
75 
75 
75 
76 
78 
79 
79 
80 
80 
83 
84 
84 
87 
91 
91 



CAPTIVITY; 



93 

P5 
95 
95 
9G 
96 
96 



100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
101 
101 
101 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



Tribes of Judah and Benjamin: 
Shemaiah, 
Abijam, 
Asa, 
Azariah, 
Jehoshaphat, 
Jahaziel, 
Jehoram, 
Elijah, 
Elisha, 
Ahaziah, . 
Jonah, 
Joash, 
Zechariah, 
Amaziah, . 
Uzziah, 
Amos, 
Hosea, 
Jotham, 
Ahaz, 
Joel, 

Mieah; ISTahum 
Hezekiah, . 
Isaiah, 
Manasseh, 
Amon, 
Josiah, 
Zephaniah, 
Jeremiah, . 
Habakkuk, 
Jehoahaz, . 
Jehoiakim, 
Jehoiachin, 
Zedekiah, 



PERIOD IV.— FEOM THE 
3416 A. M 



AND 588 B 

Daniel, 

Belshazzar, 

Darius, 

Obadiah, 

Ezekiel, 

Cyrus, 

Zerubbabel, . 

Haggai, 

Zechariah, 

Esther, . 

Ezra, 

Nehemiah, 

Malachi, 

List of the Prophets 

High Priests: 

Jeshua; Joiakim, 

Eliashib; Joiada; Jonathan 

Jaddua, 



CAPTIVITY 



TO THE 

TO 40' 



DESTRUCTION 
4 A. M., AND 71 



PAGE 
102 

102 
103 
103 
104 
104 
105 
105 
106 
108 
108 
108 
109 
109 
110 
110 
111 
111 
111 
112 
112 
112 
114 
114 
115 
115 
116 
116 
117 
117 
118 
118 
118 



OF JERUSALEM.; 



A 



120 
120 
120 
122 
122 
122 
122 
124 
125 
125 
127 
128 
130 
131 

131 
132 
132 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



High Priests: 

Onias I., 

Simon " The Just," . 

Eleazar I., . 

Manasses; Onias II., . 

Simon II., . 

Onias III., 

Jason, 

Menelaus, 

Maccabees, 

Mattathias, and Judas, 

Alcimus, 

Seven Years' Vacancy, 

Jonathan II., 

Simon III., 

John Hyrcanus, . 

Aristobulus L, 

Alexander Janneus, 

Hyrcanus, 

Aristobulus II., 

Simon IV., 

Mattathias I., 

Joazar I., 

Eleazar II., 

Jesus I., 

Joazar II., . 

Ananus (or Annas), . 

Ismael, 

Eleazar III. (son of Annas) 

Simon V., 

Joseph Caiaphas (son-in-law to A 

Jonathan III. (son of Annas), 

Theophilus (son of Annas), 

Simon Cantherus, 

Matthias (son of Annas), 

Elionaius, 

Joseph I. ; Ananias, . 

Jonathan IV., 

Ismael II., 

Joseph II., 

Ananus (son of Annas), 

Jesus II. ; Jesus III., 

Mattathias, 
Fall of Jerusalem, . 



nnas) 



PAGE 

134 
134 
134 
135 
136 
136 
138 
138 
139 
139 
143 
145 
145 
146 
146 
147 
147 
148 
153 
155 
156 
157 
157 
157 
158 
158 
159 
159 
159 
159 
159 
160 
160 
160 
160 
161 
161 
161 
162 
162 
162 
163 
163 



III. -AGE OP WAR FOR OPINION. 

FROM CHRIST TO THE PEACE OF RELIGION, 1555 A. C. 
SUBJECT — ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



PERIOD I. — FROM CHRIST TO THE END OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE; 4004 A. M. 

AND 1 A. D. } TO 4100 A. M., AND 96 A. C. 
John the Baptist, ......... 167 

Jesus Christ, . . . . . . . . . 168 



CONTENTS. 


XVII 


Apostles : 


P£GE 


Peter; Andrew, ....... 


. 171 


James; John, . . . . . . 


172 


Philip, 


. 172 


Bartholomew, . . . . ♦ 


172 


Matthew, ........ 


. 172 


Thomas, ........ 


172 


James the Less, *...... 


. 173 


Simon; Jude, ....... 


173 


Judas Iscariot, ....... 


. 173 


Saul (Paul), 


173 


Timothy; Luke, . ..... . 


. 174 


Stephen, ......... 


173 


Persecutions, ......... 


. 174 


Old and New Testaments, ....... 


176 


PERIOD II. —FROM APOSTOLIC AGE TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT; 


4100 A. M. 


AND 96 A. C, TO 4310 A. M. AND 306 A. C. 




Simeon, ......... 


178 


Clemens Romanus, ........ 


. 178 


Ignatius, ......... 


178 


Symphorosa, . . . . . . . 


. 179 


Quadratus, ......... 


179 


Justin Martyr, ......... 


. 179 


Poiycarp, ......... 


180 


Irenseus, . . . . . 


. 181 


Clemens Alexandrinus, ....... 


182 


Tertullian, ......... 


. 182 


Origen, ... ...... 


182 


Cyprian, . . ....... 


183 


Sixtus; Laurentius, ....... 


185 


Persecutions, .... , . . . 


. 185 


PERIOD III. — FROM CONSTANTINE TO CLAUDE OF TURIN, THE FIRST RE- 


FORMER; 4310 A. M. AND 306 A. C, TO 4821 A. M. AND 817 A 


C. 


Constantine, . ....... 


. 187 


Donatus, . . . . . . 


188 


Lactantius, . . . . ... 


. 190 


Eusebius, ......... 


191 


Athanasius, ......... 


. 191 


Basil; Hilary, ........ 


193 


Ambrose, ......... 


. 193 


Jerome, ......... 


194 


Augustine, ......... 


. 194 


John Chrysostom, . . . . . . 


195 


Patrick, . . . . . . 


. 196 


Clovis, . ........ 


196 


Gregory, ......... 


. 196 


Boniface III., . . • »• 

Kilian; Willebrod; Bede, 


197 


. 200 


Winfred; Paulicians, ....... 


201 


Leo, . . . . . . 


. 202 


Alcuin, ......... 


204 


PERIOD IV.— FROM CLAUDE OF TURIN TO THE PEACE OF RELIGION; 4821 


A. M. AND 817 A. C, TO 5559 A. M. AND 1555 A. C 




Claude, . . 


. 205 


Gotteschaluss, ..... ... 


206 



XYITl 



Cyril, and Methodius, 

Frederic, 

Hay mo; Anscarius; Alfred 

Arnulphus, . 

Otho; Gylas, 

Adalbert; Unni, 

Thcophylact, 

Nilus, 

Berengarius, 

Stephen, 

Godeschalus; Boniface, 

OlausIL; Eifric; Alph 

Ulfrid; Olaus, . 

Margaret; Anselm, 

Twelfth Century, 

Joachim, 

Arnulph; Bernard, 

Peter Waldo; Athelstan 

"Waldenses, 

Century Thirteenth, 

Century Fourteenth, 

Thomas Bradwardine, 

Wickliffe, 

William Swarte, 

Lord Cobham, . 

John Huss, . 

Jerome of Prague, 

Hussites, 

Martin Luther, 

Council of Trent, 



CONTEXTS 



PAGE 

206 
206 
207 
208 
209 
209 
210 
211 
212 
212 
213 
213 
213 
214 
216 
219 
219 
220 
221 
223 
228 
230 
230 
232 
233 
236 
240 
242 
245 
257 



IV. — AGE OP CONSOLIDATION. 

FROM THE PEACE OF RELIGION TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I.— FROM THE PEACE OF RELIGION TO THE LANDING OF THE PIL- 
GRIMS; 5559 A. M., AND 1555 A. C, TO 5624 A. M., AND 1620 A. C. 

Peace of Religion, ......... 260 

Roman Catholic Church, . . . . . . . . 260 

Ignatius Loyola, ......... 261 

Napoleon Bonaparte, . . . . . . . 264 

Lutherans, .......... 264 

Calvinists, .......... 264 

Church of England, 265 

Henry VIII., 265 

Edward VI., 265 

Puritans, .......... 266 

James I., .......... 267 

Archbishop Laud, ......... 268 

Oliver Cromwell, ......... 269 

Charles II., 269 

Judge Jeffries, .......... 270 

Church of Scotland, 271 



CONTENTS 



XIX 



Patrick Hamilton, . 

John Knox, 

Moravians, or United Brethren, . 

PERIOD II. —FROM LANDING 

Congregationalists, 

Richard Clifton, 

John Robinson, 

Brewster, 

Ralph Smith, 

Roger Williams, 

Saybrook Platform, 

Baptists, 

John the Baptist, 

History, 

Roger Williams, 

Religious Liberty, 

Methodists, 

John Wesley, 

George Whitefield, 

Missions, 

Judson, . 

God has a people, 



OF 



PILGRIMS TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



PAGE 
271 

271 

272 



272 
273 
273 

273 
274 
274 
274 
275 
275 
275 
276 
276 
277 
277 
277 
278 
278 
279 



BOOK II. 

HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

L — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

SUBJECT-PROFANE HISTORY. 

Caindom, .......... 283 

Jabal, 283 

Jubal, ........... 283 

Tubal Cain, .......... 283 

Parties, .......... 284 

Noah's Family, ......... 284 



L — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

B ABYLON. — FROM NIMROD TO BELSHAZZAR. 

PROFANE HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. — FROM NIMROD TO SARDANAPALUS ; 1771 A. M. AND 2233 B. C, TO 

3184 A. M. AND 820 B. C. 

Nimrod; Babel, . ........ 284 

Nineveh, .......... 285 

Babylon, 285 

Chedorlaomer, .*....... 285 

STinus, . 285 

Semiramis, .......... 285 

Niuias, . . . '. ...... . 286 

Sardanapalus, ......... 286 



XX 



CONTEXTS. 



II. -AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

PROFANE HISTORY. 

PERIOD II. -FROM SARDANAPALUS TO BELSHAZZAR; 3184 A. M. AND 820 

TO 3466 A. M. AND 538 B. C. 
Pul, 

Tiglath Pileser, ......... 

Shalmaneser, .......... 

Sennacherib, . ........ 

Nebuchadnezzar I., ........ 

Nebuchadnezzar II., 

Belshazzar, .......... 



PERIOD I. 



Elamites, 

Cyrus, 

Cambyses, 

Darius, 

Xerxes, . 

Darius Nothus, 

Artaxerxes Mnemon, 

Darius Codomanus, 



PERSIA. 

FROM CYRUS TO DARIUS CODOMANUS; 3466 A. M., AND 538 
TO 3680 A. M., AND 324 B. C 



B.C., 

PAGE 

287 
287 
287 
287 
287 
287 
287 



B. C, 

288 
288 
28S 



289 



L — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

EGYPT. — FEOM MENES TO CLEOPATRA. 

PROFANE HISTORY. 

PERIOD I.— FROM MENES TO THE END OF THE SHEPHERD KINGS; 1816 

AND 2188 B. C, TO 2244 A. M. AND 1760 B. C. 
Menes, ........... 

Timaus, .......... 

Shepherd Kings, . . . 

Cheops, .......... 

Cephrenes, .......... 



A.M. 

290 
290 
290 
290 
291 



II. — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

PERIOD II. — FROM SHEPHERD KINGS TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT; 2244 A.M. 
AND 1760 B. C, TO 3668 A. M., AND 336 B. C. 



Mceris, 

Xitocris, 

Sesostris, 

Apophis; Amosis, 

Hermes Trismegistes 

Actisanes; Cetes, 

Shishak, 

Ramases, 

Sabbacon, or So, 

Tharaca, 

Pharaoh-Necho, 

Psammenitus, 

Amyrthajus, 

Nectanebis, . 

Alexander the Great 



292 
292 
292 
292 
292 
292 
293 
293 
293 
293 
293 
293 
293 
294 



CONTENTS. 



XXI 



PERIOD III. — FEOM ALEXANDER TO CLEOPATRA; 
3974 A. M. AND 30 B. C. 

Ptolemy Soter, 
Ptolemy Philadelphia, 
Ptolemy Euergetes, 
Ptolemy Philopater, 
Ptolemy Epiphanes, 
Ptolemy Philometer, 
Ptolemy Physcon, . 
Ptolemy Chick-pea, 
Ptolemy Auletes, 
Ptolemy Dionysius, 
Cleopatra, 



A. M. AND 



B. C, TO 

PAGE 

294 
294 



294 
295 
295 
295 
295 
295 
295 
295 



I. — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

GREECE— FROM ITS EARLY SETTLERS TO ITS SUBJUGATION 

BY THE ROMANS. 

PERIOD I. — FROM ABOUT 1908 A. M. AND 2096 B. C, TO THE TROJAN WAR, 2820 

A. M. AND 1184 B. C. 

Pioneers, .......... 296 

Inaehus, . . . . . . . . . 296 

Lacedemon, or Sparta, ........ 297 

Athens, ........... 297 

Thebes; Theseus, ......... 297 



IL_AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 



Argonauts, 
Trojan War, 
Codrus, 

PERIOD II.- 

Heraclidce, 
Homer, 
Lycurgus, 
Draco, 



297 



299 



FROM THE TROJAN WAR TO THE FIRST PERSIAN INVASION: 
2820 A. M. AND 1184 B. C, TO 3513 A. M. AND 491 B. C. 



300 
300 
302 
302 
303 
303 



Solon, .......... 

Pisistratus, ......... 

Sappho; iEsop, ......... 

PERIOD III. — FROM THE FIRST PERSIAN INVASION TO ALEXANDER THE 

GREAT; 3513 A. M. AND 491 B. C, TO 3668 A. M. AND 336 B. C. 
Miltiades, ......... 

Leonidas, .......... 

Themistocles, .......... 

Cimon, .......... 



Pericles, 

Lysander, 

Socrates, 

Herodotus, 

Pindar, . 

Phidias, 

Euripides, 

Sophocles, 

Thucydides, 



304 
304 
305 
306 
307 
307 
308 
309 
309 
309 
309 
310 
310 



XXII CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Hippocrates, ......... 310 

Xenophon, .......... 310 

Agesilaus, .......... 310 

Epaminondas, ... ....... 311 

Philip, 312 

Plato; Diogenes, ......... 314 

Apelles; Aristotle, . . ... . . . . . 314 

Demosthenes, .......... 315 

Euclid; Zeno, ......... 315 

Archimedes, .......... 316 

PERIOD IV. — FROM ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO THE SUBJUGATION OF 

GREECE BY THE ROMANS; 3668 A. M. AND 336 B. C, TO 3857 A. M. AND 147 B. C. 

Alexander, .......... 316 

His Successors, ......... 319 

Antipater, .......... 320 

Phocion, .......... 320 

Acheean League, ......... 321 

Romans, . . . . . . . . . . - 321 

II. — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

SYRIA. — FROM 3703 A. M. AND 301 B. C, TO 3939 A. M. AND 65 B. C. 

Seleucus, . . . . . . . . . . 323 

Antiochus the Great, ......... 323 

Antiochus Epiphanes, ........ 323 

Tigranes, .......... 324 

II. _AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

CARTHAGE.— FROM DIDO TO ITS DESTRUCTION IjY THE 

ROMANS. 

2844 A. M. AND 1160 B. C, TO 3857 A. M. AND 147 B. C. 

Dido, 324 

Hamilcar, .......... 325 

Hannibal, .......... 325 

Scipio iEmilianus, . . . . . . . . . 326 

Asdrubal, ........... 326 

II. — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

ROME. — FROM JANUS TO HONORIUS AND CONSTANTLNE XII. 

PERIOD I. — FROM JANUS TO THE FOUNDING OF ROME; 2715 A. M. AND 1289 

B. C, TO 3251 A. M. AND 753 B. C. 

Janus, 326 

Latinus, 326 

iEneas, . . . . . . . . . . . 327 

Numator, .......... 327 

PERIOD II. — FROM THE FOUNDING OF ROME TO THE COMMONWEALTH; 

3251 A. M. AND 753 B. C, TO 3495 A. M. AND 509 B. C 

Romulus, . . . 328 

Numa Pompilius, ......... 330 

Tullius Hostilius, 330 

Ancius Martius, ......... 331 

Tarquin the Elder, . . . 331 

Servius Tullius, . . . 331 

Tarquin the Proud, 332 



CONTENTS. 


XXIII 


PERIOD III. — FROM THE COMMONWEALTH TO THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE; 3495 


A. M. AND 509 B. C, TO 3945 A. M. AND 59 B. C. page 


Brutus and Collatinus, .... 


333 


Valerius, ....... 


. 334 


Horatius Codes, . 


334 


Mutius Scsevola, ..... 


. 334 


Titus Lartius, 


335 


Pothumius, ...... 


. 335 


Coriolanus, ....... 


335 


Agrarian Law, ...... 


. 336 


Volero, ...... 


336 


Quinctius Cincinnatus, ..... 


. 337 


Decemviri, ...... 


337 


Appius Claudius, ..... 


. 338 


Intermarriage, ...... 


339 


Consulship, ...... 


. 339 


Regular pay to the Troops, 


339 




. 340 


Brennus; Lucius Sextius, . . . 


341 


Roman Conquests; Titus Manlius, 


. 342 


First Punic War, ..... 


343 


Regulus, ...... 


. 344 


Second Punic War, .... 


344 


Hannibal, ...... 


. 345 


Third Punic War, 


346 






Gracchi, ...... 


347 


Jugurtha, ...... 


. 348 


Social War, . . . - . 


349 




. 349 


Cinna; Marius, ..... 


350 


Roman Feuds, ...... 


. 351 


PERIOD IV. — FROM THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE TO 


THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS 


CESAR; 3945 A. M. AND 59 B. C, TO 4018 . 


4. M. AND 14 A. C. 


Julius Cresar, ...... 


. 351 


Pompey, ...... 


352 


Sergius Catiline, ..... 


. 353 


Crassus, Triumvir's War, 


353 


Second Triumvirate, ..... 


. 360 


Antony Lepidus, and Octavius, ..... 


361 


Cicero, ....... 


. 362 




363 


Cornelius Nepos, ..... 


. 364 


Virgil; Horace, ..... 


.. 364 


Augustus Caesar, . . 


. 364 



III. -AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 

FROM AUGUSTUS CAESAR TO THE REFORMATION. 

SUBJECT— CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD V.— FROM AUGUSTUS' DEATH TO THE END OF THE WESTERN EM- 
PIRE; 4018 A. M., AND 14 A. C, TO 4480 A. M., AND 476 A. C. 



Tiberius, 
Caligula, 



367 
368 



XXIV 



CONTEXTS. 



Claudius, .... 

Nero, ..... 

Galbaj Otho, 

Vitellius, .... 

Vespasian, .... 

Titus, ..... 

Domitian (Last of " The Twelve Cassars 

Nerva; Trajan, 

Adrian, .... 

Titus Antoninus Pius, 

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 

Com modus, .... 

Pert in ax, .... 

Didius Julianus, 

Septimus Severus, . 

Caracalla, .... 

Macrinus, .... 

Helio.nabalus, .... 

Alexander Severus, 

Maximinius, .... 

Balbinus and Pupienus, 

Gordian; Philip, 

Decius; Gallus, 

Valerian; Gallienus, 

Flavius Claudius, 

Aurelian, .... 

Tacitus; Florian, 

Probus; Cams, 

Xumerian; Carinus, 

Diocletian, .... 

Constantine, 

Constantius, 

Julian, .... 

Jovian, . . . . . 

Valentinian I., . 

Gratian, ..... 

Valentinian II., 

Theodosius, .... 

Honorius, .... 

Valentinian III., 

Maximus, .... 

Avitus, . . . . . 

Majorian; Severus; Athemius, 

Olybrius, Julius Nepos, 

Romulus Augustulus, 

PERIOD VI. -FROM THE END OF THE 



EASTERN; 44 
Arcadius, 
Justinian I., 
Phocas, 

Constantine III., 
Thirty-three Emperors, 
Michael Palaeologus, 
Constantine XII., . 
" Dark Ages," . 



A. M. AND 476 



A. C 



WESTERN 

TO 5457 



EMPIRE TO THAT 
A. M. AND 1453 A. C 



PAGE 

308 
. 369 

370 
. 371 

371 
. 372 

372 
• 373 

374 
. 375 

375 
. 376 

376 
. 376 

376 
. 377 

377 
. 377 

378 
. 378 

379 
. 379 

379 
. 380 

380 
. 380 

380 
. 381 

381 
. 381 

382 
. 383 

383 
. 384 

384 ' 
. 385 

385 
. 385 

386 
. 387 

387 
. 387 

388 
. 388 

3S8 

OF THE 



389 
390 
390 
390 
391 
391 
391 



CONTENTS. 



XXV 



Crusades, 
Feudalism, . 
Chivalry, 
Modern Nations, 



PAGE 

391 
392 
393 
394 



III. — AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 
FRANCE — FROM PHARAMOND TO LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 

CIVIL HISTORY. 
PEEIOD I. — FROM PHARAMOND TO PEPIN ; 4424 A M. AND 420 A. C, TO 4756 A. M. 



AND 752 A. C. 



Pharamond, 

Clodius, Merovoeus, and Childeric, 
Clovis, .... 
Charles Martel, 



PERIOD II. 



FROM PEPIN TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF PHILIP IV; 4756 
A. M. AND 752 A. C, TO 5317 A. M. AND 1313 A. C. 



Pepin, the Short, 

Charlemagne, 

Louis I.; Charles I., 

Louis II. ; Louis III., 

Charles II. ; Eudes; Charles III. 

Robert; Rodolph, . 

Louis IV. ; Lothaire, 

Louis V., 



Hugh Capet, 

Robert II., . 

Henry I., 

Philip I.; Louis VI.; Louis VII., . 

Philip II., 

Louis VIIL, 

Louis IX. ; Philip III. ; Philip IV., 

PERIOD III. — FROM PHILIP IV. TO FRANCIS II 
5563 A. M. AND 1559 A 

Louis X.; John L; Philip V.; Charles IV.; Philip VI. 

John II. ; Charles V., 

Charles VI., 

Charles VII., 

Louis XL; Charles VIIL; Louis XII. 

Francis 1., . 

Henry II., 



5317 



395 
395 
395 
395 



A. M. AND 



396 
397 
398 
399 
399 
399 
399 
399 
399 
400 
400 
401 
402 
402 
403 



1313 A. C, TO 

. 404 
405 

. 405 

406 

. 407 



409 



IY.-AGE 0E CONSOLIDATION. 

SUBJECT— CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD IV. — FROM FRANCIS II. TO THE REPUBLIC; 5563 A. M. AND 1559 A C, 

TO 5796 A. M., AND 1792 A. C. 
Francis II. ; Charles IX., ....... 

Henry III., 



Henry IV., 

Louis XIII., 

Louis XIV., 

Louis XV. ; Louis XVL, 



411 
413 
414 
415 
416 
418 



XXVI CONTENTS 



PERIOD V.- FROM THE REPUBLIC FORWARD; 5796 A. M. AND 1792 A. C, TO 

5864 A. M. AND 1860 A. C. page 

Republic, . . . . .' . . .421 

" Reign of Terror," . 422 

Directory ; Napoleon Bonaparte, . . . . . . 423 

Louis XVIII 427 

Charles X., 428 

Louis Philippe, ......... 429 

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, ........ 429 

III. — AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 

ENGLAND. — FROM JULIUS CAESAR TO QUEEN VICTORIA. 

SUBJECT — CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. — FROM ITS EARLY HISTORY TO THE END OF THE SAXON HEP- 
TARCHY; 3949 A. M. AND 55 B. C, TO 4S31 A. M AND 827 A. C 
Early History, ......... 430 

Saxon Family: 

Egbert, 431 

PERIOD II. — FROM THE END OF THE HEPTARCHY TO WILLIAM THE CON- 
QUEROR; 4831 A. M. AND 827 A. C, TO 5070 A. M. AND 1066 A. C 

Ethelwolf; Ethelbald; Ethelbert; EthelreclL; Alfred the Great, . 432 

Edward the Elder, ....... 433 

Athelstan; Edmund L; Edred; Edwy; Edgar, .... 434 

Edward the Martyr; EthelredIL; Sweyn; Edmund II., . . 435 

Canute I. ; Harold I., 435 

Canute II.; Edward the Confessor; Harold II., . . . 436 

PERIOD III. — FROM WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR TO HENRY VIII.; 5070 A. M. 
AND 1066 A. C, TO 5513 A. M. AND 1509 A. C. 

Norman Family: 

William the Conqueror, ....... 436 

William II. ; Henry I., 437 

Stephen ; Henry IL, 438 

Richard I., 439 

John, .440 

Henry ni., 441 

Edward L, 442 

Edward H, 443 

Edward HI., 444 

Richard IL, . . . . . . . . .445 

Branch of Lancaster: 

Henry IV.; Henry V., . 446 

Henry VI., 448 

Branch of York: 

Edward IV., . . . . . . . . .449 

Edward V., ........ 450 

Richard III., 451 

House of Tudor: 

Henry VII., 451 



PERIOD IV. — FROM HENRY VIII. TO THE END OF THE REVOLUTION; 5513 
A. M. AND 1509 A. C, TO 5692 A. M. AND 1688 A. C. 

Henry VIII., .452 

Edward VI.; Mary, . • 455 

Lady Jane Grey, ........ 455 

Elizabeth, ...'..... 456 



CONTENTS. 



xxvn 



IV.— AGE OF CONSOLIDATION 



Milton; Shakspeare, ... 
House of Stuart: 

James I., . . . 

Charles I., » . - . . . 

Oliver Cromwell, . . . 

Charles II., 

James II., . ...... 

PERIOD V. -FROM THE REVOLUTION TO QUEEN VICTORIA; 
1688 A. C, TO 5864 A. M. AND 1860 A. C. 

William III. and Mary, 

Anne, . . . . 

Newton; Locke, 
House of Brunswick, or Hanover : 

George I. ; George II., 

George III., .... 

George IV., 

William IV., .... 

Victoria, .... 



5692 A. M 



PAGE 

458 



459 
460 
464 
468 
469 

AND 

470 
471 
471 

472 
473 
474 
474 
475 



IV.-AGE OF CONSOLIDATION. 

AMERICA — FROM THE REFORMATION FORWARD. 

CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. — FROM THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO THE LANDING OF THE 
PILGRIMS ; 4990 A. M. AND 986 A. C, TO 5624 A. M. AND 1620 A. C. 

Northmen ; Biarne, . . . . . . . .476 

Leif; Thorwald, ......... 477 

Thorstein; Gudrida; Freydisa, ....... 478 

Relics, . , . . . . . . . 479 

Christopher Columbus, . . . . . . .479 

Vasco de Gama; John Cabot; Americus Vespucius, .... 482 

Magellan ; Fernando Cortez, ........ 482 

Pizarro; James Cartier; Sir Walter Raleigh, . . . . . 483 

Virginia, .......... 483 

Captain Newport; Pocahontas, ....... 484 

Henry Hudson, . . . . . . . . . 485 



PERIOD II. — FROM THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS TO 



MENT OF THE UNITED STATES; 5624 A. M 

AND 1783 A. C. 
Pilgrims, ...... 

New Hampshire ; New Jersey ; Delaware, 
Massachusetts Bay, . ... 

Connecticut; Rhode Island, 

Maryland; New Haven, .... 

"United Colonies of New England," 

North Carolina; South Carolina, 

King Philip, ..... 

Pennsylvania, ..... 

Georgia, . . . . 

Colonies Oppressed, .... 

Old French War; War of the French and Indians, 
Braddock, ..... 



AND 1620 A, 



THE ESTABLISH- 
C, TO 5787 A. M. 



485 
486 
486 
486 
487 
487 
487 
487 
487 
488 
488 
489 
491 



xxvin 



CONTENTS 



"Washington, 

Montcalm, . 

Wolfe, .... 

Revolutionary War, 

Stamp Act, 

Patrick Henry, 

Colonial Congress, 

Pitt, 

Capt. Preston, . 

"Mohawk Indian" Tea Party, 

" Solemn League and Covenant, 

Lord North, 

Lexington, 

Putnam, 

Ethan Allen, 

United Colonies, 

General George Washington, . 

Bunker Hill, 

British evacuate Boston, 

Declaration of Independence, 

" George "Washington, etc., etc., 

Trenton, 

Burgoyne surrenders, . 

Lafayette, 

Arnold and Andre', 

Yorktown, . 

Cornwallis surrenders, 

Independence of United States acknowledged, 

PERIOD III.— FROM THE INDEPENDENCE TO THE PRESENT TIME; 

AND 1783 A. C, TO 5864 A. M. AND 1860 A. C. 
Army disbanded, ...... 

Constitution adopted, ...... 

Eirst President chosen, . . . . 

George "Washington, ...... 

John Adams, ....... 

Thomas Jefferson, ....... 

James Madison, . .... 

James Munroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson, 
Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison, 
John Tyler; James K. Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Eilmore, 
Franklin Pierce; James Buchanan, . . . . 

Government of the United States, .... 

Important Battles, and their Commanders, . 

Conclusion, . ....... 



PAGE 

. 491 

491 
. 491 

492 
. 492 

493 
. 493 

493 
. 494 

494 
. 495 

496 
. 496 

496 
. 497 

497 
. 498 

498 
. 500 

500 
. 501 

501 
. 503 

504 
. 504 

505 
. 506 

507 

5787 A. M. 



507 
508 
508 
509 
509 
510 
511 
512 
512 
513 
513 
513 
514 
515 



PREFACE. 



It would seem almost superfluous to make any addition to 
the numerous works already published on the great subject of 
Universal History. 

But the vastness of the subject is such, and its importance 
being equally great, we may rest assured that its merits have 
not yet been fully set forth, nor all its practical teachings im- 
bibed and cherished. 

In order to comprehend a matter, either seeing, or perceiving, 
is necessary. Experience teaches us that our perception is 
greatly aided by sight ; and just in proportion as we perceive 
clearly, is our comprehension just, and our knowledge of a 
matter solid and useful. 

If, then, we can array the great drama of the world before 
the vision, and thereby obtain a clear perception of its facts, and 
their important relations, we shall be enabled easily to gather 
up and retain a fund of knowledge not to be despised. 

With the hope of facilitating the study of history, and bring- 
ing its rich and varied instruction into the foreground of obser- 
vation, this volume is submitted to a discriminating, thinking, 
reading, criticizing, and charitable public. 

Books enough have been written, and well enough written, 
on the subject of history ; and still the study of it is invariably 
anathematized as dry ! dry ! dry ! The facts are not dry, but 
the method of getting at them is where the difficulty lies. 



XXX PREFACE. 

One writer gives us a vast quantity of reading, too volumin- 
ous for persons of limited time and little patience to peruse ; 
yet what could we do without these same emporiums of historic 
wealth ? 

Another selects some portion of the world's history, and pours 
upon it a light that would seem to set forth its importance 
above all other parts of the great whole ; and such labors are 
of priceless value. But still the impression returns, after perus- 
ing these various stores of wisdom, that we have not compassed 
the matter yet. 

Any aid, therefore, that can be rendered in this difficulty, 
must be timely, and of use. 

An attempt was made some ten years ago, by the author, to 
overcome this impediment at the door of historic inquiry ; and, 
after much labor and study, the present volume is offered as the 
result. 

The plan is briefly this : to trace out the march of Religion 
and Empire in parallel. These two great themes have con- 
trolled the world ; and in their " trail " we can see what has 
befallen mankind. 

In the department of Religion, attention is directed chiefly to 
the religion which has the Living God as its author, and the 
Bible for its law-book. False and idolatrous religions are only 
noticed, as they have perverted the right ways of the Lord, or 
attempted to blot out his name and fear among men. 

Empire is traced in its principal forms, or in the great em- 
pires of ancient and modern times. One great truth in the 
march of Empire is, that it began in the East, and has steadily 
removed West, in no instance going backward, more than the 
current of a river. The ark of power now rests with the ex- 
treme western nations. The same is true of Religion, and of 
the " Ark of the Covenant." 

In order to carry out this plan of parallel, the " diagram" is 
introduced. This is divided first into six parts, of a thousand 



PREFACE. XXXI 

years each. Each of these is divided into ten sections, each 
section representing one hundred years of time. The upper 
line of figures shows the number of hundred years from the 
creation to now ; or, the years of the world. The lower line 
begins at the time of Christ, and numbers the same sections to 
our time, and then begins at Christ and numbers back (to the 
left) to the creation, showing at a glance any point before or 
after Christ, and the year of the world. This is the chronology 
of the diagram. 

The lines crossing the upper part of the diagram horizontally, 
show the " trail " of Religion. Those on the lower part, that 
of Empire. The more prominent events are indicated by the 
names of distinguished persons, in both departments, all located, 
as nearly as possible, in the time or date at which they lived. 

One other important feature of the diagram is its division 
into ages, according to the prevailing sentiments of those ages, 
indicated by the colored sections. The First Age is termed the 
Patriarchal. The Second Age, that of War for Power. The 
Third Age, that of War for Opinion. The Fourth Age, that of 
Consolidation. 

In the course of the work, another set of divisions is intro- 
duced, called Periods, which take up any portion that falls in 
the way, conducting it through the age in which it belongs. In 
each period are introduced as many names of persons or things 
as are found necessary to hand along the thread or " trail " of 
history. 

This arrangement, it is hoped, will serve two purposes. One 
is, to direct the student of history to any portion of the great 
subject he wishes to investigate, at a greater length than it is 
here treated, or can be, consistently with the design of this 
work. The other is, to give a connected, broad, and compact 
idea of the great body of history, to persons who have neither 
time nor money to expend upon large and elaborate histories. 

The part devoted to Religion, it is to be hoped, will especially 



XXXII PREFACE. 

aid in the understanding of the Bible, and in impressing the 
fact upon all readers, that God has ever had a people to serve 
him since the world was. Particular pains have been taken to 
trace this matter through the time from the close of the 0. T. 
history, about four hundred years B. C, to his time, illustrating 
particularly the fact, that " the sceptre did not depart from 
Judah until Christ did come." 

Also to show that through the " Dark Ages," or the ninth to 
the twelfth centuries after Christ, there were faithful witnesses, 
of the true seed, upon the earth. These sections of Religious his- 
tory are not so easy of access to the general reader, and hence 
a value will be attached to their being put in the present 
connection. 

A similar use can be made of the history of Empire, illus- 
trating the progress of civil liberty. 

What better wisdom can we seek, than that of the ways of 
Providence with man ; and the nature of, means of obtaining, 
keeping, and enjoying, Civil and Religious Liberty? 

The History of Religion, before Christ, is called " Sacred His- 
tory;" after Christ, " Ecclesiastical History." That of Empire, 
before Christ, is called "Profane History;" after Christ, "Civil 
History" 



THE 



TEAIL OF HISTORY, 



LESSONS OF HISTORY. 

History is that department of knowledge which refers exclu- 
sively to the past. Every act passes into that department as soon 
as performed. Written history is a detail of the acts of mankind. 
The " Trail of History," contemplates the survey only of the great 
highway trodden by the generations of the past. 

History is the best adapted of all subjects to meet the tastes of 
all classes. It is alike interesting to old and young, to the learned 
and unlearned. It is an enchanting source of amusement, a deposit 
for profound improvement, and a fountain of desirable and impor- 
tant knowledge. 

History gives us an insight into the circumstances and influences 
which impelled others to do as they have done. Hence we are led 
to weigh their motives and acts, and also to admire the good and 
great wherever found. It shows us that true goodness and great- 
ness go hand in hand, and that the most deserving of true renown 
are those who have done most to promote the good of mankind. 

History furnishes a true index of the measures best adapted to 
promote the peace and welfare of individuals, communities, and 
nations. This is its greatest use. 

History teaches us the sad lesson of the instability of human 
affairs, and that the high and mighty are often more miserable than 
the lowly. The occasion of all the fluctuations of this inconstant 
world is found to dwell, tyrant and alone, in the supreme selfishness 
of the human heart. 

| History unfolds to us in countless ways " the vast designs, the 
deep abyss of Providence." The Eternal God had a purpose " before 

5 



34 THE TRAIL OF HISTORY. 

the world was ; " and when the combinations of men seek to thwart 
that purpose, He, by a flood upon the world, or a confusion of 
tongues, or the overthrow of a nation, does vindicate his ways to 
men. I 

A knowledge of history will incline us to contentment and cheer- 
fulness with the lot that befalls us ; restrain unhallowed and unwar- 
ranted ambition ; cure us of hero-worship, by finding that all men 
are " subject to like passions with ourselves ; " and that the true duly 
and station of all men is" to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly 
with thy God." 



SOURCES OF HISTORY. 

Preeminent and above all other books is the Bible as a source of 
historic knowledge. For 3300 years we have no other written 
account of any event in that long night of unwritten silence, but 
what is found in the volume of inspiration by Moses. 

Next, in point of time, is Herodotus, styled the "Father of His- 
tory." He compiled what he could learn of the history of nations 
from 713 to 479, B. C. 

Oral Tradition must have sirpplied most of the facts penned by 
these ancient historians. 

Historical Poems. These are common among barbarous nations. 
The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer are regarded as of historic author- 
ity, and are the only history extant of the Heroic Age of Greece. 

Visible Monuments, as pillars, heaps of stones, and mounds of 
earth. 

Ruins: found in Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece, and Italy; in 
their ruins of cities, temples, aqueducts, and columns, — giving evi- 
dence of the power, opulence, and taste of their architects and 
projectors. 

Names of Countries, Toions, etc. These perpetuate the names of 
discoverers, conquerers, and founders. 

Coins and Medals. The most ancient of these, whose dates can 
be ascertained, belong to the fifth century before Christ. 

Inscriptions on Marbles. The most celebrated of these are now in 
possession of the University of Oxford, England, called the "Arwi- 
delian Marbles" brought from Greece by the Earl of Arundel. 



BOOK I. 



HISTOEY OF RELIGION. 



I. 

AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

FROM CREATION TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. 

SUBJECT — SACRED HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. FROM 1-1656, A. M., OR TO THE ELOOD 2348, B. C. 

The Bible. — To this priceless volume we owe more than to any 
other, in a historic point of view. It is not the fountain of romance, 
but of positive knowledge. Being written by men not seeking to 
establish a lie, its statements are worthy of our implicit confidence. 
It directs us, as do all other sources of knowledge, to the East, as 
the birth place of man, and the beginning of empire. Being all the 
history of religion we have for about 3600 years from the creation, 
we can do no other way than follow the Bible record. 

Cosmogony. — "In the beginning God created the heavens and 
the earth." To this sublime and profound statement, nothing can 
be added nor substituted any more satisfactory on the origin of the 
world. The absurdity of the attempt need only be mentioned to 
be seen. 

Zenophanes, Strabo, and others, taught that the whole system of 
the universe was the Deity himself. Pythagoras taught the numer- 
ical system of the monad, dyad, and triad, and by means of his 
sacred quaternity elucidated the formation of the world, and the 
secrets of nature. Others adhered to the mathematical system of 
squares and triangles, the cube, the pyramid, and the sphere, etc. 
Others refer the origin of the globe to the combination of the four 
elements, air, earth, fire, and water, with the assistance of a fifth, an 
immaterial, and vivifying principle. 

The inspired Shastah, of the Brahmins, records that the angel 
Bistnoo transformed himself into a great boar, plunged into the 
watery abyss, and brought up the earth on his tusks. Then issued 
from him a mighty tortoise and snake, and Bistnoo placed the snake 
erect upon the back of the tortoise, and then placed the earth upon 
the head of the snake. 



38 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The negroes of Congo affirm that the world was made by angels 
except their own country, which the Supreme Being constructed 
himself; that he took great pains with its inhabitants, and made 
them very black and beautiful, and when he finished the first man, 
he was so pleased with him, he stroked his face with his hand, which 
made his nose, and the noses of his posterity, flat. 

Darwin, an infidel, in accounting for the origin of the world, sup- 
poses that the mass of chaos suddenly exploded, like a barrel of 
gunpowder, and in that act exploded the sun, which in its flight, by 
a similar convulsion, exploded the earth ; and thus by a chain of 
explosions, the whole solar system was produced, and set in regular 
motion. 

Even Geology leaves us at no better stopping-place, after pene- 
trating into depths unfathomable, than the well-known haven, "In 
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 

Creation. — It is plain that a creation must have a creator. The 
author of all things is neither a cube, a square, a boar, gunpowder, 
nor Bistnoo, but the eternal Jehovah. 

The earth was without form, and darkness was upon the deep, 
when the spirit of God moved in the silent void, a light was struck, 
and day and night were created the first day. 

" The firmament," or atmosphere, was made the second day. 

The division of the water, dry land, and herbage, the third day. 

The sun, moon, and stars, made the fourth day. 

The beasts, fishes, and fowls, the fifth day. 

Man and woman created the sixth day, and also marriage insti- 
tuted. 

The Sabbath instituted, and the Lord rested the seventh day and 
hallowed it. Every seventh day is the Lord's through all time. 

Eden. — The geographical location of the Garden is a matter of 
conjecture, and also of no real importance. Some place it near 
Mount Ararat; others at the junction of the rivers Pison, Gihon, 
Hiddekel, and Euphrates, near the Gulf of Persia. The superior 
loveliness of the place can be easily believed, when we recollect it 
was fitted by God for the home and happiness of our first parents. 

Adam and Eve. — After the Garden was prepared, the Lord put 
Adam into it, to dress it, and keep it. He being alone, " the Lord 
saw it was not good for him to be alone," so to make a "help meet 
for him," the Lord caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, when he 
took a rib from his side, from which he made woman. 

To Adam and Eve the Lord gave first, a privilege to eat of every 
tree in the garden ; second, a prohibition, that of the tree in the centre 
they were not to eat at all. The penalty for disobedience was to 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 39 

be death, — i. e., the introduction of the ills of this life, of which 
sin is the cause, and death is the last of them. 

Temptation. — The devil, in the form of a serpent, insinuates a 
jealousy into the mind of Eve, against the commandment of the 
Lord, that it deprived them of very important knowledge. In this 
way he bewitched her with an uneasiness, which she could not dis- 
miss until she had yielded to Satan's temptation, and disobeyed the 
Lord, — thus giving the devil's insinuation more credit than the 
Lord's commandment. Adam also took of the fruit, and did eat. 

Fall. — In the cool of the day, or the evening, the Lord appeared 
in the Garden. At his approach, Adam and Eve fled from his pres- 
ence. The Lord called, " Adam, where art thou ? " He said, " I 
am naked, and afraid, and hid myself." 

The Lord then asked him if he had eaten of the tree which he 
was commanded not to eat ? He answered, " The woman thou 
gavest me, she gave me of the fruit, and I did eat." ' When the 
Lord asked her why she did this, she said, " The serpent beguiled 
me, and I did eat." The Lord then proceeded to inflict the penalty, 
first upon the serpent. 

Curse. — A part of that penalty was, the entailment of perpetual 
enmity between the righteous and wicked. 

Upon the woman fell peculiar and aggravated sorrows, as the 
mother of children, and subjection to her husband : " He shall rule 
over thee." 

Upon the man fell increased difficulties, as thorns and thistles, in 
cultivating the ground, — also sorrow to additional labor: "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the 
ground." 

Expulsion. — The Lord next drove them out of the beautiful 
garden, and closed up the entrance, by placing a flaming sword to 
guard the way of the tree of life. Thus by taking of the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil, death was placed between them and 
the tree of life. " Thou shalt surely die ! " 

Cain and Abel. — He was the first-born of the human race, — 
supposed to have been born in the first year of the world. 

Abel is supposed to have been born the next year. 

It is evident that their parents followed God's plan, in bringing 
up their children religiously and industriously. Cain was a farmer, 
and Abel a shepherd. 

"In process of time," — i. e., at some set time of religious worship, 
— perhaps the Sabbath, — they each brought an offering to the Lord ; 
Cain of the fruit of the ground, Abel of the flocks. 

For good reasons, the Lord had respect to Abel's offering, but not 



40 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

to Cain's. Filled with rage at this, Cain fell upon Abel and killed 
him. Thus Adam and Eve saw "the enmity between the serpent's 
seed and her seed," spoken of in the curse. God immediately inter- 
posed, as in the case of Adam, and inquires of Cain for his brother. 

Cain feigns ignorance, and thought it not his business to look 
after him. "The Lord said: the voice of thy brother's blood crieth 
unto me from the ground." 

The Lord then gave Cain a sign, that no one should kill him, 
and sent him out into the world a vagabond. 

Seth. — At the age of one hundred and thirty years, Adam begat 
a son, and called his name Seth. He was to be in place of Abel, and 
through him the line of the godly was to descend. Then began men 
to be called by the name of the Lord, — or the distinction began to 
be made between the godly and ungodly. The two classes were also 
called the children of God, and the children of men. 

Enoch. — As a specimen of the piety of the church before the 
flood, it is stated of Enoch, that "he walked with God, and was not, 
for God took him." Thus with great favor, and great honor, the 
Lord will reward all them that diligently seek him. Enoch lived 
between 600 and 1000 before the flood. 

Noah. — Little else is known of the church before the flood, ex- 
cept the long lives of some of the Patriarchs, — as Methuselah, who 
lived to the year of the flood, and was then nine hundred and sixty- 
nine years old. Noah was born six hundred years before the flood. 
The deplorable fact that wickedness spread with greater rapidity 
over the earth than piety, provoked the Lord to administer judg- 
ment upon the whole degenerate race. Previous to this, however, 
he sent Noah on an errand of mercy, as a " preacher of righteous- 
ness." By this act God showed the world that his purpose was to 
pacify and restore men to his favor, if they would repent and turn to 
him. For one hundred and twenty years Noah labored in his mission 
with little if any success, as the earth was finally "filled with vio- 
lence." Seeing no reform in the wicked, the Lord poured out his 
wrath upon them, and they were all destroyed. 

Upon the appointed day, Noah, with his family, and the animals 
to be preserved, entered the ark, and God opened the flood-gates 
of heaven, and drowned the world and its people. 

Flood. — The rain, that caused the flood, continued forty days 
and forty nights. Such was the quantity that fell, that the water 
rose to twenty-seven feet above the highest mountains. The waters 
of the flood continued upon the earth about one year and ten days, 
when they abated and dried up. 

Those who maintain that the flood was only partial, have a few 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 41 

very difficult points to combat ; such as the strong language of the 
Bible : " The windows of heaven being opened, and the fountains 
of the great deep being broken up." The waters upon the earth 
at the creation had been gathered into seas, and raised above the 
atmosphere, and need only be recalled, to cover the earth again. 

Besides, it is a matter of great query, if it was only partial, how 
the ark came to rest upon Mount Ararat, its highest peak being 
ninety-five hundred feet. 

Again, why did the Babelites undertake to build a tower up to 
heaven, as a retreat from another flood, if they got no idea of the 
waters being above the highest mountains ? 

The traditions of all nations are against the caviller. Even the 
Indians of America relate the wonder of the flood. The event 
called the deluge, is incorporated into the annals of the Chaldeans, 
Phoenicians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Druids, Persians, 
Hindoos, Burmese, Chinese, Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians, Nicara- 
guans, West-Caledonians, Otaheitans, and Sandwich-Islanders. To 
dislodge all these concurring traditions, is more than sceptics can do. 

Ark. — This wonderful boat was built according to the plan 
Noah received of the Lord. The material was gopher wood (or, 
as some suppose, cypress wood). Its form was of an oblong square, 
with a flat bottom, and a double roof, elevated one cubit in the 
middle. It had neither sails nor rudder, being designed only to 
lie on the water steadily. It was three stories high, each story 
eighteen feet in height, and divided into separate apartments. It 
was also pitched within and without, and thereby water-tight. 

It may be computed at five hundred and twelve feet in length, 
eighty-seven wide, and fifty-two feet high; or thus, equal to one 
hundred and ten thirty by forty feet barns, with sixteen feet posts, 
placed three side by side and three high, in an oblong shape. 

It rested on Mount Ararat, on the sixth of the month of May. 
Noah did not leave it until the eighteenth of December following. 



PERIOD II. FROM THE FLOOD, 1656 A. M. AND 2348 B. C, TO THE DEATH 
OF JOSEPH, 2365 A. M. AND 1639 B. C. 

Noah. — After the abatement of the flood, Noah and family came 
forth from the Ark, to reinhabit and repeople the world. 

It is worthy of notice, that Noah's first public act, after leaving 
the ark, was the erection of an altar, and offering of .sacrifice to 

6 



42 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

God, as an acknowledgment of the great deliverance of him and 
his family from the flood. 

To this act God had special regard, and was well pleased, and. 
made promise that it was not his design to destroy the world, in 
this manner again, but while the earth remains there shall be seed, 
time and harvest, and day and. night. 

Being the postdeluvian Adam, God also confirmed Xoah in the 
privileges of our first parents, viz. : to " multiply and replenish the 
earth, and the right of dominion and use of all animal, fish, and 
fowl creation." 

But whilst God put the lives of all creatures into the hands of 
men, he expressly forbade taking each others' lives wantonly, making 
murder a capital offence; "for whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
shall his blood be shed." 

The forfeiture of the murderer's life is the penalty for the crime 
of murder. In the early ages, before civil governments were estab- 
lished, the right of executing the death-penalty belonged to the 
nearest relative of the person murdered. 

God not only made promise to Xoah, but also gave him a sign — 
that of a rainbow in the cloud; so that when we look upon that 
beautiful thing, it is to remind, us that God also looks upon the 
same as his token and pledge no more to drown the world. 

Homer, speaking of the figures on Agamemnon's breast-plate, 
says there were three dragons, whose colors were " like the rainbow 
which Saturn (father of time) placed in the cloud, as a sign to short- 
sighted men." The Scandinavians regarded it as a means of com- 
munication, or bridge, between God and man. It was worshipped. 
by the Greeks, Romans, and Peruvians. 

Xoah immediately betook himself to the business of farming, — 
showing the propriety of useful employment, and the existence of 
the curse, that "by the sweat of the face shall man eat bread, until 
he return to the ground." 

Xoah planted a vineyard, and at the feast of ingathering, partook 
too freely, and " erred through wine." 

It is evident Xoah did not live in times of total abstinence. 
Xeither was he an habitual drunkard ; for his getting into this plight 
was a very great surprise to his family, which shows it to have been 
an uncommon thing. One son turned it into ridicule, while the 
other two threw over the scene the veil of charity. If excess of 
eating were followed by similar effects of excess of wine, we should, 
find gluttony a more common error than drunkenness. 

But little else is known of Xoah. His prophecy of his sons, has 
had a very striking fulfilment in the history of their descendants. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 43 

The curse of bondage to Shem and Japheth, was pronounced upon 
Canaan. 

The bondage of the Israelites, their captivity, and the enslave- 
ment of the sons of Ham, are very striking illustrations of the 
fulfilment of Noah's prediction. 

Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years, to dis- 
pense the precepts of the Lord to his posterity, and thereby lay a 
permanent foundation for the upbuilding of the Church of God 
among men. This eminent servant of God died in the year 2006 
A. M., and 1998 B. C, aged nine hundred and fifty years. 

Shem. — The sons of Noah soon separated into different parts of 
the country, and their history, and that of their descendants, is 
various. But from the benediction of their father, and the history 
of Shem, it is plain that God made Shem and his posterity the 
channel of religious good to the world. Through his line are to be 
traced the generations of the righteous. 

Shem lived five hundred years after the flood, and was contempo- 
rary with Abraham and Isaac, and died about the year Jacob was 
born, aged about six hundred years. 

It is supposed by some that Shem might have been the " Mel- 
chizedek " mentioned in the Scriptures. One objection to this is, 
" we can't know positively." In answer to that it is said, "There 
is no other person on whom we can fix the title." Hence, in the 
absence of positive proof, we are at liberty to take the strongest 
presumptive evidence. The presumption is in favor of Shem, he 
being an antediluvian patriarch and contemporary with Abraham, 
whom he met and blessed. Again, it is objected, that Melchizedek 
"had neither beginning of days nor end of life," which Shem had. 
In reply, it would be as diflicult to reconcile this with any other 
person as with Shem. And as the expression above is applied to 
the .spontaneous priesthood of Melchizedek, there is not the slightest 
difficulty in applying the same to Shem. 

Since, therefore, it is not known who Melchizedek was, we are 
robbing no one by bestowing this honorable title upon Shem. 

As Shem is the last of the antediluvians, we may here gather up 
the evidence of the authenticity of the narrative of the creation, 
flood, etc., down to this date of time. Besides all the others who 
lived in these times, we have in direct line three credible wit- 
nesses, which number is sufficient in all cases to establish a point 
beyond successful cavil. These three are Adam, Methuselah, and 
Shem ; reliable witnesses, who bring the tradition of the creation 
down to the time of Abraham, or 2160 A. M., or 1844 B. C, estab- 
lishing the credibility of the Mosaic Scriptures. 



44 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Abraham. — It was the purpose of the Lord that all men should 
be godly, and serve him as faithful children. 

But the experiment, thus far, proves that but a small portion of 
the race were disposed so to do ; hence the Lord makes known his 
purpose to show special favor to such as will fear and obey him. 

Abram, the ninth from Shem, receives a special call to become 
the "father of the faithful;" i. e., to be the first of those who 
would heed and obey the requirements of the Lord, in distinction 
from those who were bent on disobedience. In order to make this 
distinction the more apparent, the Lord required Abram to leave 
his relations in Ur, and go and dwell in the land of Canaan, which 
he and his posterity were to have as theirs. The particular occa- 
sion of his leaving his friends was their idolatry, which was directly 
opposed to the worship of the true God. 

On his departure from his friends, Abram took with him his half- 
sister, Sarai, for his wife, and also his nephew, Lot, as partner in 
business. 

At the first stopping-place in Canaan, Abram built an altar to the 
Lord, who appeared to him. From this he removed to a spot be- 
tween Bethel and Hai, and there built another altar unto the Lord, 
"and there called upon the name of the Lord; " or "preached con- 
cerning the name of the Lord." This, then, became a Missionary 
Station, and Abram, like Noah, was " a preacher of righteousness," 
or a Patriarchal Missionary. His mission must have been very 
impressive, when the popular taste was for conquest and spoils, for 
a man with his retinue to seek to establish the fear of God, and do 
good to his fellow-countrymen. 

But a trial of Abrsaacfs faith awaited him. The Lord brought a 
famine on the land, and Abram was obliged to remove to Egypt. 
Fearing that his sojourn there, with his beautiful wife, might endan- 
ger his life, he had recourse to a device of reporting her as his 
sister, which she was, half-sister, and said nothing about her as 
his wife. Thus he set out, with faith in a device, and not in the 
Lord. 

Sarai's beauty captivated Pharaoh, as Abram anticipated ; but the 
Lord troubled Pharaoh, until he was led to make inquiry about the 
matter,*when he found she was Abram's wife, and immediately 
restored her, and reproved Abram for not telling him at first how 
the case stood. The device failing, Abram was led to see that God 
was his protector, after all. 

After a stay of about two years in Egypt, Abram returned to 
Canaan, 2086 A. M., and 1918 B. C. Abram returned to the spot 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 45 

where he built the second altar, and there called upon the name of 
the Lord. 

The course pursued by Abram, in the dissolution of partnership 
between him and Lot, exhibits the spirit of Abram as a man of 
peace. It appears they had each their own servants and cattle all 
the time, but enjoyed common pasturage, and kept together for 
mutual protection, assistance, and pleasure. 

From some cause, the herdsmen had a "falling out." Abram at 
once beseeches Lot to discourage all strife between the herdsmen ; 
and then proposes to Lot to take the first choice of all the country 
before them, and he would take what was left. "If you go to the 
right, I will go to the left ; and if you go to the left, I will go to 
the right." Lot chose the plain of Jordan, and Abram dwelt in 
Canaan. 

Not long after this, the kings around made war with the kings of 
the plain; and, among the others, Lot and his family, and pos- 
sessions, were carried off captive. Abram, with his "trained ser- 
vants," went in pursuit, recovered Lot and his effects, and brought 
them back to Sodom. It was on his return from this expedition 
that " Melchizedek met Abram, and blessed him." Abram's disin- 
terestedness is seen here, inasmuch as he would not retain any of 
the spoils of conquest, thus discarding the idea that the " father 
of the faithful" sought to enrich himself by plunder. 

The Lord next proceeds to give Abram a prophetic view of the 
affliction and deliverance of his posterity, which he will overrule for 
their good. The Lord reaffirms his promise, that of Abram he will 
make a great people, and as tokens of this, changed the patriarch's 
name from Abram (a high father) to Abraham (father of a multi- 
tude) ; and gave him the rite of circumcision, to be observed by 
him and his posterity. For the same reason was the name of Sarai 
(my princess) changed to Sarah (a princess of multitudes). 

The Lord further confirms his purpose to carry out his promise, by 
giving Abraham and Sarah a son, as the beginning of their numer- 
ous seed, though he was about a hundred years old, and his wife 
about ninety. This last extraordinary purpose of the Lord, to 
fulfil his covenant, was accomplished in the birth of Isaac. 

About this time, Abraham interceded the Lord for wicked 
Sodom. The Lord heard his prayer, and declared he would not 
destroy the righteous with the wicked; and should there be found 
fifty in the city, for their sakes he would spare it. But this number 
not being found, it was reduced to ten, and for their sakes the city 
should be spared. When not ten righteous were to be found, the 
city perished. So, to this day, the mark of God's displeasure 



46 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

against a wicked people can be seen in that abiding monument, the 
"Dead Sea." 

But a still more severe trial than any before, now awaited the 
" father of the faithful." In the face of all that the Lord had done 
to inspire Abraham with the belief that he would make a great 
nation of him, especially the encouragement that all should come to 
pass through " the son of his old age," the patriarch is commanded 
to take that son of promise, and go to Mount Moriah, and offer him 
up to the Lord as a "burnt offering." 

Hitherto, the Lord had not laid any grievous burden upon Abra- 
ham, but had raised his hopes, and increased his substance, well- 
nigh to surfeiting. But it is beautifully plain that Abraham did 
not follow the Lord simply for the goods ; for, instead of shrinking 
from this trying duty, as a faithless man would have done, he at 
once entered upon the execution of the awful, but divine, command. 
As soon, however, as Abraham had gone so far in the matter as to 
satisfy himself, and the world after him, that he was in earnest, and 
meant to obey, the Lord sent his angel to tell him " It is enough ; 
thy faith is proved ; lay not thy hand upon the child." 

Hence the just appellation given to Abraham, "the father of the 
faithful." The crowning act of Abraham's life being now past, he 
went down to his grave in peace, leaving his example of faith in 
God's promises to inspire his family to be steadfast unto the end. 
He died 2182 A. M., or 1822 B. C, aged one hundred and seventy- 
five years. 

Isaac. — According to the custom of the times, Abraham pro- 
cured a wife for his son, and thus saw his posterity in the right way 
before his death. 

Rebekah, Isaac's cousin, became his wife. 

Lot, Isaac, and Rebekah were cousins. It is said of Isaac, that 
he went out into the field to pray (a fruit of his piety), and while 
there, his attention was arrested by the coming of the servants with 
Rebekah. Isaac's marriage occurred at the age of forty years. He, 
like Abraham, was a man of peace. A strife arose with a party of 
roving herdsmen, about the right to a well, which Isaac's herdsmen 
had just dug, when the strife was ended by the latter giving up the 
well, removing, and digging another. Here they met another tribe 
of marauders, and this strife ceased, also, by yielding the well, and 
removing to a third place and digging a third well, which they 
enjoyed in peace. When those herdsmen remained, he departed. 

After these trials, which Isaac bore so patiently, the Lord ap- 
peared to him, and confirmed the promises made to Abraham. 
Whereupon Isaac "builded an altar, and called upon the name of 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 47 

the Lord." Abimelech, also, king of Gerar, and some of his officers, 
seeing the peaceful conduct of the patriarch, came to him and de- 
sired to exchange vows of peace, which was done. 

The promise of offspring was abundantly fulfilled to Isaac, by 
Rebekah's giving birth to a pair of twin sons, Esau and Jacob. On 
them the hopes of the world rested, and through them the prom- 
ises to Abraham were to be realized. 

But Isaac's time drew near to die; and as the blessing of the 
patriarch on his successor was of the greatest importance, he pre- 
pared to confer the gracious benediction. Isaac's sight having 
failed him, he found, after the ceremony was over, that he had be- 
stowed his last blessing upon Jacob the younger, instead of Esau 
the first-born, to whom the blessing belonged, by his birthright. 
But on finding that the birthright had been transferred to. Jacob, 
he confirmed the blessing upon him, as the two belonged together. 

Isaac then called Jacob, and charged him not to take a wife of the 
Canaanites, but of his mother's house, and then gave him his final 
blessing in the name of the Lord, and confirmed upon him all the 
promises made to Abraham and his seed forever, to which Isaac 
had previously succeeded. From this time to Isaac's death, a period 
of about forty years, nothing is recorded of him, during which time 
he was without the use of his eyes. 

Abraham and Isaac both made the homestead at Hebron, where 
the latter died. This event took place in 2288 A. M., and 1716 
B. C. ; aged 180. He was buried by his sons, Esau and Jacob. 

Jacob. — Esau and Jacob were the first pair of twins we read 
of. Eve gave birth to the first man, Rebekah to the first pair of 
men. Little is said of these brothers until the selling of the birth- 
right by Esau to Jacob. 

The privileges of birthright are said to have been : 1. Of suc- 
cession to the government of the family or kingdom. 2. A double 
portion of the parental estate. 3. The peculiar benediction of the 
patriarch. 4. The office of the priesthood. But it more probably 
included the promises and blessings made to Abraham in reference 
both to Canaan and the Messiah, who was to descend from the line 
of the first-born. Jacob esteemed the birthright, but Esau thought 
light of it. 

Esau, being a hunter, returned from the field one day, with poor 
success, hungry and weary, just as Jacob had made ready a boiled 
dish ; when Esau begged his brother to give him some refreshment. 
Jacob, it seems, was on the watch for a good chance to buy his 
brother out of the birthright; and so took this opportunity, when 



48 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

his brother was intent upon gratifying his hunger, to make the de- 
sired purchase, and was successful. 

Some time after this, Isaac, thinking he might die suddenly, told 
Esau to go get venison and prepare him a choice dish thereof, and he 
would bless his first-born before himself should die. Jacob, seeing 
that the deed to the birthright he had purchased was about to pass 
to Esau, informed his mother of his alarms, and she aided him in 
planning and executing a device by which Jacob obtained the 
blessing also. 

Some have taken exception to this underhanded act of Jacob. 
It may not all be just right ; but the fact of Jacob being under the 
advice of his mother, and being his mother's favorite, while Esau 
was his father's, places them all about on the same level, whatever 
that level may be. But Jacob's act of intercepting his brother to 
get the blessing, was not so great an error as Esau's attempts get 
it after he had sold the birthright to which it belonged. 

Esau now seeing that all the blessings promised Abraham were 
confirmed to Jacob, began to realize the value of the trade now 
closed in favor of his brother. 

It being too late to regain his loss, he resolved to do as Cain did 
when he was rejected, — slay his brother. 

To avoid such a collision in the family, Rebekah hurried Jacob 
off to tarry with her brother Lab an, until Esau's wrath had spent 
itself, when she would send for him to return again. 

Before Jacob's departure, Isaac called him, and reblessed, or 
confirmed the blessings, promised to Abraham and his seed, upon 
Jacob and his seed. He also charged him not to take a wife of the 
Canaanites, but to marry into his mother's family. 

Being weary in his journey, Jacob laid down upon the ground, to 
rest for the night, with stones for his pillow. While he slept, he 
had a dream, in which he saw a ladder reaching from earth to 
heaven, and angels going up and down the ladder. At the top of it 
the Lord appeared, and declared himself to be the God of Abraham 
and of Isaac, and confirmed the blessing of Jacob's father, saying : 
" To thee and thy seed will I give this land whereon thou liest." 
When he awoke, he felt that the place was the very gate of heaven. 

Jacob then took the stones he slept upon, made a pillar, and 
poured oil upon it, and called the place Bethel. He also vowed to the 
Lord, that if he would prosper him, and permit him to return to his 
father's house in peace, one-tenth of all his fortune should be the 
Lord's. 

As he pursued his journey, he came to a well, and while inquiring 
of some shepherds for his uncle Laban, behold Rachel, his uncle's 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 49 

daughter, came up with his flock to water. Jacob rolled the stone 
from the well's mouth, and assisted her to water the flock. He met 
with a very cordial reception from his uncle and family, as soon as 
they found he was Rebekah's son. 

Jacob's uncle, not wishing to have his services for nothing, imme- 
diately proposed to employ his nephew, and asked him his terms. As 
his father and mother sent him to get a wife, and the custom was to 
serve a term for a wife, the way was all open now, and he offers to 
work seven years for Rachel. Laban accepted the offer and said, 
"Abide with me." 

When the seven years were out, Jacob demanded his wife. (He 
was now over eighty years of age.) Esau had by his own acts, and 
his brother's, and Isaac's blindness, been disinherited of his birth- 
right ; but Laban took good care that his elder daughter, Leah, 
though not a beauty, should be cared for in her birthright. So, by 
a device of which Jacob was ignorant, he found in the morning that 
the " wheel of fortune " had been turned by another birthright, and 
he had Leah for a wife, instead of Rachel. 

As soon as Jacob found out the deception, he complained to 
Laban, who told him the custom of the land was, never to give the 
younger before the first-born. 

Thus Jacob had a taste of the experience of his brother Esau, 
who had to bear a similar disappointment in the loss of the bless- 
ing, and, because of the law of the land, had to bear his grief as best 
he could. Jacob could now sympathize with him. 

The matter was all got over by a compromise. Laban gave him 
also Rachel ; and in advance of the seven years, he was to serve for 
her also. At the end of this term of service, Jacob began to see 
the " promises advancing," in a large family born him in fourteen 
years, among whom was Joseph, son of Rachel. 

Jacob now proposes to return to his father's house, asking only 
his wives and children. 

Laban, knowing that Jacob's services had been of benefit to him 7 
proposes now to pay wages for the rest of the time he would stay* 
and left it to his son-in-law to state his terms. These were, that 
Jacob was to sustain all the losses among the cattle, and have for hi£ 
share all the spotted cattle, and give his uncle all the red cattle* 
To this Laban agreed. 

Jacob now got the birthright into his hands again, and knew how 
to use it so as to cause by far the greater number of cattle to be born 
spotted. By this means, in a very short time, Jacob's share was 
much larger than his uncle's. 

Laban's sons, seeing the turn of affairs, began to murmur. They 

7 



50 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

first insinuated that all Jacob had, he got by using their father's 
capital ; and second, that he had metamorphosed most of that into 
his own possession, by carrying out, in spirit and letter, the peculiar 
contract made with their father. 

Laban, seeing the prosperity of his nephew, and hearing the 
clamor of his sons, and possibly remembering his treatment to 
Jacob, and the advantage given in the bargain he had made with 
him, had occasion, as he really did, to become surly. 

Jacob observed this change in his uncle's manner towards him, 
mentioned it to his wives ; interpreted his prosperity as God's favor 
towards him ; referred to their father's attempt to take advantage 
of him at times ; and proposed to them that they had better take 
what they had, and remove to Canaan, — the Lord having warned 
him so to do. 

Jacob's departure was not known, however, to Laban until the 
third day after. Laban immediately took a company and pursued 
Jacob, and overtook him at Mount Gilead; but the Lord warned 
Laban in a dream the night before not to treat Jacob with abuse. 

Laban's first accusation was, that Jacob had gone off and not let 
him know it, that he might have had a feast, and sent them off in 
good style. 

Laban felt that his son-in-law leaving as he did, would look as 
though he had not treated him well ; and, as that was the fact, it 
would have been a delightful opportunity for him to have made a 
great spread at Jacob's leaving. By so doing, he could have re- 
moved, in a great measure, from the mind of his neighbors, the 
reports that got out about his misusing his nephew. Jacob being in 
good business, leaving all at once, and taking only what belonged 
to him, cast a severe, but just reflection upon his uncle, which the 
old man felt keenly. 

He charges Jacob with taking a foolish course, and says : " I have 
power to injure you, but feared the warning he had of the Lord." 
Laban then charges his daughters with having stolen his gods. 

If those articles had been really objects of worship, Laban could 
have purchased more if he had not been too covetous; again, if they 
were, it shows Laban to be an idolater, and hence poor company for 
Jacob and his family. But if they were only some pictures that had 
been in the family a good while, and which the daughters had prob- 
ably had promise of, and when about to leave, could get them in no 
way but the way they did, and having never received any dowry of 
their father, and no prospect of any, they took what had been prom- 
ised them, and left. To treat Jacob as Laban did in getting married, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 51 

give them nothing but wages, and then pursue them and charge 
them with theft, was not very fatherly. 

After having made search for his trinkets among Jacob's " stuff," 
and not finding them, Jacob then rehearsed to his uncle what had 
been done since he went into his family to live. He showed Laban 
that he had been of service to him, and but for this course, I should 
have been sent away of you, empty. And as proof of all this, and 
that I am right, " God rebuked thee yester-night." 

Laban finally yielded, and for once treated Jacob as an equal, and 
proposed to make up and part friends. Accordingly, they erected a 
heap of stones, and called it Galeed {the heap of witness) , and 
Mizpah {a watch-tower), that they had become reconciled, and 
would ever keep their vows to each other. Jacob then offered sac- 
rifice upon the mount, and treated his friends with bread, and 
encamped for the night. Early in the morning Laban arose, kissed 
his sons and daughters, and blessed them, and returned to his home. 

As Jacob went on his journey, the angels of the Lord met him, 
and he said, " This is the Lord's host." 

The next old grudge Jacob had to prepare to meet, was the one 
held against him by his brother Esau. The last understanding was, 
Esau sought his life. Jacob, being on his return to his father's 
house, must now encounter the old affair about the birthright. 

Jacob sent messengers to Esau to inform him of his wealth, of his 
coming, and of his desire for peace. The messengers returned and 
told Jacob that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred 
men. Jacob, not knowing whether Esau meant war or not, divided 
his company into two parts, intending to send one on first, and if 
Esau smote that, for the rest to flee. 

Jacob then prayed the Lord to deliver him from the wrath of 
his brother ; claiming the protection the Lord promised him when 
he called him to return to Canaan ; and also that his seed should be 
great in the earth. 

When Jacob went away from his father's, he made a vow to the 
Lord if he prospered him, one-tenth of all he possessed should be 
the Lord's. As a fulfilment of this vow, Jacob sends on to Esau 
580 cattle, as a present to his brother. 

Jacob well knew that all he had came by the birthright, and to 
use this large share of.it to appease the wrath kindled by his having 
the birthright, was directly included in his previous vow. Thus 
he vowed, and paid the vow. 

Jacob then ordered the rest of the company to advance, following 
after the present, which was to lead the march, and be offered to 
Esau, on meeting him, as a present from his brother, who was be- 



52 HISTORY OF RELIGION". 

hind ; and if his present was accepted, he would also see him. In 
the evening of the day of preparation, Jacob took his family across 
the brook Jabbok, and then returned, and wrestled until break of 
day with the angel of the Lord, and would not let him go until he 
blessed him. He prevailed ; and for this his name was called Israel 
(a prince of God). By this he was also taught that he should pre- 
vail with Esau. 

Jacob's attention was then called to look, and Esau was coming, 
sure, with his four hundred men. As he drew near, Jacob bowed 
himself to the ground, when Esau ran and met him, and embraced 
him, and kissed him, and they wept. And then came the wives and 
children, and they bowed also. 

Esau £hen inquired what that drove he met was for, and Jacob 
told him to gain his favor. Esau refused to take it ; but, after much 
importunity, he accepted it. Esau returned to Sier, and Jacob 
settled in Succoth. 

Soon after, Jacob revisited Bethel, where the Lord met him, 
when he went to Padan-aram, set up the pillar again, and had a 
pleasant review of all the Lord had done for him in his absence. 
From this he journeyed on to go to revisit his father ; got as 
far as Ephrath, when Benjamin was born, and Rachel died at the 
same time. 

Jacob now settles in Canaan with his large family. His trials 
henceforth arise out of his own family ; the greatest of which was 
connected with Joseph. 

Out of Jacob's family one must be selected to be the successor of 
Abraham. Joseph is indicated as the one for this great distinction. 
Envy showed itself immediately, as in the case of Cain, and Esau, 
when they saw the promotion of their brothers. 

The special mark of favor Jacob bestowed upon Joseph, was the 
"coat of many colors." This, and the intimations of the Lord of his 
future greatness, being misunderstood by his brethren, they formed 
a conspiracy against his life. 

This they carried out so far as to make their father think, verily, 
that Joseph was dead. But Jacob afterwards found that, like him- 
self, his sort went out from his father's house for a purpose. 

Jacob lived through many trials to see his son Joseph alive, and 
the promises fulfilling in him. 

But the patriarchal blessing was the great platform for fore- 
shadowing the destiny of families. Jacob prepared to administer 
this last rite before he died. 

The predictions and fulfilment of this remarkable charge, as now 
Jacob called his sons together and delivered to them, stand before 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 53 

the world in such a striking light, that no caviller can doubt that 
Jacob spoke under the guidance of greater than human wisdom. 

His course was different from Abraham's or Isaac's in this ; the 
blessings of the church were confirmed in a tribe, instead of a 
family, and a son of that family, as in Jacob's case and Isaac's. 
Each of Jacob's sons was to be a father of a tribe, and all together 
to be a great nation ; but the tribe of Judah was to have the dis- 
tinguished honor of giving birth to the Messiah. " The sceptre 
shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet^ 
until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." 

Jacob, having finished his work, had only to make request about 
his burial. Being in Egypt now, he makes special request to be 
buried " with his fathers, in the land of Canaan, in the cave in the 
field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, of Ephron 
the Hittite, for a possession of a burying-place. " There they buried 
Abraham, and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Re- 
bekah ; and there I buried Leah." And Jacob " yielded up the 
ghost, and was gathered unto his people." This event occurred in 
2315 A. M., and 1689 B. C, M. 147. 

After the days of embalming and mourning were over, Joseph 
and his brethren, and Pharaoh and the elders of his house, and all 
the elders of the land of Egypt, went up to the land of Canaan, 
and buried Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah, as he had requested, 
A very imposing funeral. Thus the days and trials of Jacob were 
ended. 

Joseph. — Joseph was the first-born of Rachel, Jacob's first and 
most loved wife. Benjamin, his younger and only brother by 
Rachel, was not born until after Jacob returned to Canaan from 
Padan-aram. 

The sons of Jacob were, like himself, early set to tending flocks 
and herds ; the older ones had the care, while the younger sons 
were about, learning the duties and habits of a shepherd's life. 
The younger ones were also sent to and from the field, as occasion 
might require. In this latter service Josej)h was employed. 

Joseph was about seventeen years old when his brethren began 
to hate him. The occasions for disliking him were several. They 
found that as he went home from the field, their father was told of 
some things they had rather he would not know, and Joseph was 
the medium of the information. This was one charge. 

Another was the partiality shown him by his father ; specially, in 
the " coat of many colors." Besides these, Joseph dreamed a 
dream, that he and his brethren were in the field binding sheaves, 
and his sheaf stood up. Presently all their sheaves stood up and 



54 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

bowed to his sheaf. Again he dreamed that the sun, moon, and 
eleven stars bowed to him. This he told to his father and brothers. 
The brothers took these things as intimations of his exaltation 
over the rest of the family, and, all things together, they envied him ; 
but his father observed and pondered them. 

On a time after, as the other sons were out with the flocks, Jacob 
wished to hear of their welfare, and proposed to Joseph to " go and 
see whether it be well with thy brethren and the flocks, and bring 
me word." 

But neither he nor his father "dreamed" to what this journey 
would grow. After coming to Shechem, he was told that his 
brethren had gone with their flocks to Dothan. 

As they saw him coming, they say, "Here comes this dreamer;" 
and at first proposed to kill him, and see what would become of his 
dreams. But one of them shrunk from this, and proposed to put 
him into a pit or dry well, and let him perish there. 

They then very deliberately sat down to eat, and probably of 
some provision, and even dainties, which Joseph had brought them, 
fresh from home. Joseph was sent to see if any evil hand had 
been laid on them, and they turn on him with that same evil hand. 
How hearty Joseph's errand after their welfare, until he finds them ! 
but how base their treachery and cruelty ! 

But presently there came along a company of Ishmaelites, and 
they concluded to sell Joseph to them, and so send him far away 
into Egypt, whence they should hear no more of his dreams. This 
they did, and now they fancied themselves at rest. 

But one thing more remained to be done, and that was to get up 
a report to send to their father. The plan hit upon was to take that 
famous " coat of colors " and tear it as beasts of prey would, dip it 
in the blood of a kid, and send it to Jacob. The next difficulty to be 
met was, what kind of a story to tell the old gentleman. This was 
met by telling him, " This we found; is it thy son's coat ? " And 
Jacob knew the coat, but not the beasts that tore it. 

" Surely," said he, in great grief, " an evil beast hath devoured 
him ; Joseph is rent in pieces." 

And Jacob mourned for his son many days. 

It must have been an exceedingly hard task for Joseph's brethren 
to have kept up an appearance of innocence, when their father was 
in such grief for him, and when reference was made, from time to 
time, of Joseph's death by the wild beasts. But the time drew on, 
when a revelation of the secret of Joseph's disappearance, and of 
their perfidy and unfaithfulness to their father and brother, would 
be made. The last favor done them by Joseph was when he fed them, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 55 

and the next will be, to feed them. Their last cruelty to him was to 
sell him, their last shift was to submit themselves to Mm in their 
shame. 

Joseph was taken to Egypt, and sold to a captain of Pharaoh's 
guard. He was too goodly a person to go as a common slave ; and 
from this better place, soon rose to a higher, by the excellence of his 
character, until his master made him overseer of his entire business. 

In this elevated position, his master's wife cast wanton eyes upon 
him ; but Joseph resisted her solicitations, until she took hold upon 
him, and seeking to clear himself from her, a part of his coat was 
torn off, and he fled and left it with her. Then, to hide her own 
guilt in the affair, told her husband that this young Hebrew at- 
tempted to insult her, and in defending herself, tore his coat, and he 
fled. This changed his master's good opinion of him, and believing 
his wife, cast Joseph into prison. 

Poor Joseph was lied out of his life, in his father's opinion ; and 
now by this wanton woman lied out of his character, in his master's 
opinion. But with such a character as his, he must rise yet. For 
no sooner is he in prison, than the jailor discovers an unusual spirit 
in this new prisoner, until he put all his business into the prisoner's 
care. Thus Joseph rises yet. 

But the king became wroth with his chief butler, and he was cast 
into prison. The butler having a dream, of which he knew not the 
interpretation, was in trouble because no one could interpret it to 
him. Joseph says : " Do not interpretations belong to God ? Tell 
me it, I pray thee." 

He at once told the butler that he would soon be released from 
prison, and restored to his office before Pharaoh. Soon, indeed, the 
order for his release came ; and as he was about leaving the prison, 
Joseph simply requests of the butler to " remember me when it is 
well with thee, and bring me out of this house." 

In two years' time after this, Pharaoh had a dream which troubled 
him, and for which no interpreter could be found among all the ma- 
gicians of the land. In this dilemma, the butler thought of Joseph, 
and recommended him to the notice of Pharaoh. Joseph is called. 
He interprets the dreams as having reference to seven years of 
unusual plenty, to be followed by seven years of famine. 

Pharaoh saw, and was led to acknowledge that such interpreta- 
tions must come from God, and that the Spirit of God dwelt in 
Joseph. Pharaoh immediately exalts Joseph to the highest dignity 
in the kingdom, excepting himself, and that only in the throne. To 
confirm this in the minds of the people, Pharaoh took off his own 
ring, or seal, and put it on Joseph's hand; arrayed him in royal 



56 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

apparel; a gold chain on his neck; caused him to ride in the second 
chariot, and made him ruler over all Egypt. In addition to these 
favors, Pharaoh gave him Asenath, daughter of the Prince of On, to 
be his wife. 

The boy of the coat of many colors is now raised to all the 
greatness his dreams foreshadowed, and far more. With all the lies 
heaped upon him by his brethren, and Potiphar's wife, he is exalted 
higher than being waiter for his brethren, or servant to a captain 
of the king's guard. 

Joseph entered immediately upon the work of storing up the sur- 
plus corn of seven years, to supply against the famine that was at 
hand. 

It was this famine which was felt in Canaan that brought Joseph's 
brethren into Egypt to buy corn, to preserve the family alive. 

He knew them when they first came, but they knew not him. 
As they came to him, they bowed down to him as the governor of 
Egypt, little thinking that they were fulfilling the dream of the 
sheaves. 

What must have been Joseph's emotions to behold these wicked 
brothers, whom he never expected to see, driven to him to buy 
bread, and put so completely in his power, whom they tore from the 
family circle, and sold into hopeless servitude ? 

Instead of making himself known to them, he sternly charged 
them with being spies. This they denied ; stating that they were 
brothers, and had yet one more at home, the youngest, and " one 
is not" To make them prove themselves not spies, Joseph compels 
them to leave one of their number in prison, until the others go and 
carry corn home, and bring their youngest brother. 

When this severe measure was agreed to, they began at once to 
reflect that all this came upon them because of their ill treatment 
to their brother, who " teas not" 

They returned, and brought the heavy intelligence to Jacob that 
the governor of Egypt had demanded their youngest brother to be 
brought, as proof that they were true men. This was a sore demand 
on the father, who at once said, " One is dead, and if this be taken, I 
must die in sorrow." But go he must, or they could get no more 
corn. The desperate alternative lay before them. Jacob yielded. 
He, however, ordered presents to be made, to appease his anger. 

When they returned, on approaching Joseph with the presents, 
they again bowed themselves. Joseph then asks if their father, the 
old man, is yet alive and well. They say yea, and " bowed their 
heads" He then asks, " Is this your youngest brother ? " and said, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 57 

" God bless you, my son," and turned away and entered his chamber, 
and wept there. 

Joseph then ordered a meal prepared ; and, as a mark of special 
regard, served out to Benjamin five times as much as any of the 
rest. He then caused their sacks to be filled, and his silver cup put 
into Benjamin's sack, and so sent them away home. 

But soon an officer overtook them, and charged them with stealing 
the governor's cup. Surprised at such a charge, they at once de- 
clare that if it be so, "he on whom the cup is found shall die, and 
we will be your servants." The camels were unloaded, search was 
made, and the cup found in Benjamin's sack. They then reloaded 
their corn, and returned to the city. 

As they came to Joseph, they all fell before him on the ground. 
Joseph asked them what they had done now, and gave them to un- 
derstand that he could certainly divine. They were in great distress 
at this affair, and proposed all to remain Joseph's servants. But he 
would accept of none but the youngest brother, and him he loould 
keep. 

This threw them into the greatest distress, as it would be such a 
terrible grief to their father. 

They had more regard for their father's feelings now, than when 
they sold Joseph j and more for Benjamin than for the boy of the 
dreams. 

Judah offers to stay himself, a bondman, if Benjamin can be re- 
leased; "for how can I behold the evil that will come upon my 
father, if Benjamin go not up unto him ?" 

Joseph could carry the matter no further. He caused all to leave 
the room but his brethren, when he said: "I am Joseph, your 
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt" and wept aloud; and all the 
Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 

Their consternation was very great at this revelation of their 
wickedness ; but Joseph turns it all into a providence ; he does not 
charge them with the wickedness of selling him, but says, " God 
sent me here." 

This was true ; but his brethren could not get rid of the stinging 
recollection of the wicked part they took in this marvellous provi- 
dence. 

Joseph immediately sends for his father and all the family to come 
down into Egypt, and sojourn. This, and the news of Joseph's life 
and prosperity, caused the spirit of Jacob to revive, and he says : 
" Joseph, my son, is yet alive, and I will go and see him before I 
die." 

With what shame must they have been filled, when they told 

8 



58 HISTORY OF RELIGIOX. 

Jacob that his son was yet alive, to reflect how they had kept this 
concealed from him all this time ! And with what ill grace must 
they have appeared in the eyes of their father for such perfidy! 

Jacob gathered up all his effects and family, and started, and was 
directed to the land of Goshen, as the part of the country he was to 
occupy. When Joseph knew of his coming, he prepared his chariot 
to go and meet Israel. This was a melting time for the old patriarch, 
to behold his beloved Joseph, safe, and exalted to be Egypt's gov- 
ernor. And Joseph fell on his father's neck, and wept a long time. 

Joseph then informed Pharaoh of the coming of his father's house 
to sojourn in Egypt. He then gave his father an introduction to 
the king, and told his brethren when Pharaoh should call them and 
inquire of their occupation, to tell then their business was about 
cattle ; for shepherds were hated by the Egyptians. 

The occasion of this antipathy to shepherds was owing to the 
oppression of the " shepherd kings " that conquered and tyrannized 
over them about 250 years, and not a very long time previous to 
Israel's going into Egypt to dwell. 

For Joseph's sake, Pharaoh told him to let his father and family 
dwell in Goshen, the best part of Egypt. , 

Here, then, Joseph's dreams are fulfilled. While the Egyptians 
are forced to sell all that they have, and even their services, to 
escape from starvation, Jacob and his family are kept in comfortable 
circumstances, through the mere clemency of Joseph, whose life his 
brethren had wantonly put in the greatest peril. To this dreamer 
the eleven sheaves, sun, moon, and eleven stars, had to bow, bow, 
bow ! God's hand was in it for good, but theirs for evil. 

Israel's time drew near to die ; whereupon he had a private inter- 
view with Joseph, preparatory to his last remove. He obtained a 
promise from Joseph that he would bury him in Canaan, and not in 
Egypt, in the old patriarchal cave in Machpelah. At another inter- 
view he rehearsed the promises of the land of Canaan to his seed, 
and that they should increase to be a great nation ; and then con- 
stitutes Joseph's two sons heirs to these promises with his own 
family, and were after reckoned as Jacob's sons. He then kissed 
them, embraced them, and blessed them. 

In Israel's last blessing on all his sons, he foretells their career, 
and all that was predicted of Joseph was realized in Ephraim and 
Manasseh. 

Upon the death of Israel, Joseph prepared, after the days of 
mourning and embalming were over, to bury his father, with all the 
distinguished honor due to so eminent a servant of the Lord. With 
his own brethren, and the retinue of the court of Pharaoh, the re- 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 59 

mains of Jacob were borne to the land of promise, and deposited in 
the cave of Machpelah, along with Abraham and Isaac. 

Thus the faithful and beloved Joseph did to the last, and all that 
a loving son could do, to cherish and honor the memory of his 
revered father. 

After they had returned from the funeral of Israel, a messenger 
came to Joseph one day, with an errand from his father : " Thy 
father commanded us to say unto thee, forgive us, thy brethren, our 
trespass against thee, and our sin, for we did evil unto thee." This 
confession, made at the direction of Joseph's father, brought the 
governor of Egypt to tears again; he wept while they spake to 
him. Seeing Joseph melted, they fell down before him, saying, 
" We be thy servants." The eleven stars made obeisance surely. 

But Joseph spoke kindly and forgivingly to them, making no 
charge against them, and giving them no credit for the favorable 
issue of their plot against him. " It is not ye, but God, brought me 
to this place to save much people alive." 

But Joseph's time to die drew on, and he, like his predecessors, 
tells his posterity what is for them in the future. " God," he says, 
"will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land, unto the land 
which he sware unto Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob." 

Having confirmed on them the promises of God, he took a pledge 
also of the children of Israel that they would also carry up his bones 
to the land of promise, when they should be delivered and taken 
thence. And Joseph was gathered with his fathers, the last of the 
j)atriarchs, who walked by, and died in, the faith. His death 
occurred in 2369, A. M., and 1635, B. C. ; aged 110 years. 

His body was then embalmed, and put in a coffin, — not buried, 
but kept in readiness for the departure Joseph predicted would 
arrive. Also, being put in a coffin was then a mark of great dis- 
tinction. Truly the end of the righteous man is peace. 

Job. — Although Job does not appear in the regular trail of 
events, still the prominent notice he receives in the Bible warrants 
us in giving him a location and whereabouts, in the time he is sup- 
posed to have lived. Although no positive proof can be adduced 
of the precise time Job flourished, yet it is thought that he lived 
before the Exodus of Moses ; and from the name of Eliphaz the 
Temanite appearing in the book of Job, and also in the genealogy 
of Esau, it is concluded that it was also before Moses. Again, being 
contemporary with Eliphaz, a descendant of Esau, he must have 
lived between the death of Jacob and the birth of Moses. 

Relying upon the authenticity of the Book of Job, we have a 
beautiful example and confirmation of the faith of the patriarchal 



60 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

times. The belief here of an arch-adversary of all righteousness 
(the devil) seeking whom he may devour, is as plain as that there 
was such a man as Job. 

His temptation, endurance, and justification, show us well how 
the grace of God is sufficient for the day of such as trust in him. 
So Job died, full of faith and full of days, being, as is supposed, 240 
years old. 

Interregnum. — After the death of Joseph, it would seem that 
the cause of God must have become extinct. But the seed sown 
by the patriarchs was then germinating, and preparing to bring forth 
a hundred-fold. 

After the generation of the patriarchs passed away, there arose 
another king, who knew not Joseph, and so had no faith or interest 
in the welfare of God's cause. 

The first notice he takes of the Israelites is their rapid increase. 
Although this was one of God's special promises to them, yet he 
neither knew it nor cared for it. 

Fearing that the Hebrews might become numerous, and, perhaps, 
powerful and dangerous to the safety of the throne, the new king 
institutes oppressive measures to retard their increase, and break 
their courage. These measures were to be carried out by putting 
task-masters over them, to compel them to extraordinary tasks, and 
so weary them ; while the midwives were instructed to select ail 
the male children as soon as born, and kill them. 

Little did he think, in this last measure, that he was deliberately 
fighting against God. Little did he suspect, either, that when he or- 
dered the males destroyed, that the Hebrew women were able to 
break his power. They had no fear of the king, and even took 
more pains to save the male children ; and God set his approbation 
upon their course. This course pursued by the midwives, was the 
measure which resulted in the bringing out of the Hebrews from 
Egypt, as Joseph had said. 



II. 

AGE OF WAE FOB POWER. 

FROM THE DEATH OF JOSEPH TO CHRIST. 

SACRED HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. PROM THE DEATH OE JOSEPH TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA: OR 2365 
A. M. TO 1639 B. C., TO 2561 A. JH. TO 1443 B. C. 

Moses. — During the rigor of the Egyptian infanticide, Moses 
was born ; 2433 A. M., and 1571 B. C. He was born of the tribe 
of Levi, and being " a goodly child," he was soon put out of reach 
of the wicked law of Pharaoh. Although hid in the flags of the 
river, yet precaution was taken to have his sister remain in sight, 
and watch the fate of the child. 

While watching, along came Thermuthes, the king's daughter, 
with her maidens, to bathe. As the sister of Moses saw them near- 
ing the place where the little ark lay, and fearing that the child 
would be reported to Pharaoh and slain, ventured to draw near as 
soon as the ark was opened. Thermuthes at once declared it to be 
a Hebrew child, when Moses' sister offered to go and get a Hebrew 
woman to take the child, and nurse it for her. This was agreed to, 
and Moses' mother was called, and the princess gave orders to her to 
nurse the child, and she would pay wages for the same. The 
princess named the boy 3foses, because she drew him out of the 
water. 

Although Moses was brought up in the court of Pharaoh, yet he 
learned other wisdom than that of the Egyptians. When about forty 
years of age, he knew his people and their burdens, and seeing an 
Egyptian smiting a Hebrew one day, he interfered, and slew him. 

The slaying of the Egyptian offended the king, and he sought to 
slay Moses, who fled to the land of Midian. 

While sitting by a well, the daughters of the prince of Midian 
came to the well with their flocks, and after having drawn the 
water for them to drink, a party of lazy fellows interfered and drove 
them off, so as to let their own flocks drink. 

Moses, not being in the habit of letting such injustice go unre- 



02 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

buked, and being a gentleman in its true sense, interfered in behalf 
of the shepherdesses, restored their rights to them, and assisted them 
in drawing the rest of the water for their flocks. Returning home 
earlier than usual, their father inquired into the cause, and they told 
him : " An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the shepherds, 
and helped us draw water for the flocks." He reproved them for 
not inviting him home, and sent them to call him, and let him eat 
bread. 

A contract was at once made between their father and Moses, 
and he began tending sheep; and, as a token of favor and good-will, 
gave Moses Zipporah his daughter for his wife. 

During this sojourn, the King of Egypt died ; and the children of 
Israel sighed, for their bondage and burdens were heavy ; and God 
heard their cry. And, for the covenant which he had made with 
their fathers, God had respect unto them, and in answer to their 
prayers and tears sent them a Deliverer. 

One day, as Moses was tending Jethro's flock, near Mount Horeb 
(and Sinai), the Lord appeared to him behind a burning bush. See- 
ing the flame, and the bush not burned, Moses drew near, when a 
voice accosted him, saying, " I am the God of Abraham, the God of 
Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; " and Moses hid his face, and was afraid. 

The Lord then informed him that the cry of oppression had reached 
him from the children of Israel, and that his purpose was to deliver 
them ; and that Moses was to be the agent for that great deliver- 
ance ; and that, through this great movement, they should be 
brought into the land of Canaan, promised to Abraham and his 
seed. 

Moses plead insufficiency for this task, when the Lord assured 
him of his presence and aid, and that he and they should worship 
in this same mount. Moses inquires, " Whom shall I tell the chil- 
dren of Israel hath sent me to them? " The Lord said, Tell them 
(•"ri»T]) I Am, the God of their fathers, hath sent you. At the same 
time, Moses is told that the King of Egypt would refuse his request, 
and not let them go ; but that he, by the judgments God would 
send upon him by the hand of Moses, would yield at last, and let 
them go. 

To convince Moses of this call being from the Lord, he was 
commanded to cast the rod in his hand upon the ground, when it 
became a serpent. The Lord then told him to put forth his hand 
and take it by the tail, when it became a rod his in hand again ; then 
to put his hand in his bosom ; and when he drew it out, it was leprous ; 
he put it back, and then drew it out, when it was whole again. 

Moses then plead his slowness of speech, as being a hinderance in 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 63 

presenting his errand at the court of the king. But Aaron is men- 
tioned as a substitute in this respect ; so that he was to be mouth 
for Moses, and Moses be to Aaron as God, or instead of him. 

Moses returns to Jethro, his father-in-law, and gets released from 
his shepherd's office, and liberty to take his wife and return to 
Egypt. On his way he meets Aaron, makes known the great com- 
mission they had jointly to execute, goes to Egypt and calls together 
the Elders of Israel, and showed them their errand and authority, 
which they readily believe, and receive Moses as their deliverer. 

Next, Moses and Aaron waited upon Pharaoh, and asked the re- 
lease of the children of Israel in the name of the Lord. Pharaoh, 
feignedly or really, knew not who the Lord was ; refused their peti- 
tion, and increased the burdens of the Hebrews by compelling them 
to make brick without straw, and so serve with increased rigor. 

This unfavorable turn of things discouraged both the people and 
Moses and Aaron. But the Lord encouraged the latter, that by the 
miracles they should work, and the assistance he would render 
them, Pharaoh would be forced at last to let them go. 

At this they took courage ; and, through a long series of wonders 
and judgments, Pharaoh did at last conclude to let the people go. 
Preparatory to starting, the Hebrews asked the gift of a variety of 
jewels, which they obtained without difficulty. 

As a final signal of departure, the Passover is instituted. The 
destroying angel was to go through Egypt that night, and slay all 
the first-born of the Egyptians ; but all who would kill a lamb, and 
put some of the blood upon the door-posts, the angel would pass 
over, and not slay their first-born. At midnight, Pharaoh and his 
servants rose up and made a great cry for the dead among them, 
and called for Moses and Aaron, and urged them to depart with all 
possible haste, — even take all their flocks and herds, and be gone ; 
and bless me also. 

The greatness of that night's transaction made the Passover an 
ordinance of perpetual observance. The number that went out of 
Egypt, as descendants of Jacob, was 600,000 men, besides women 
and children — probably not far from 1,800,000 ! These, with their 
flocks and herds, made a vast procession, and a vast impression on 
the minds of the Egyptians. 

They went out in order, five in a rank, and took their course 
towards the Red Sea. The bones of Joseph were taken along, as 
they promised him, to be buried in Canaan. In this march the 
Lord led them by a cloud by day, which became a pillar of fire by 
night. 

The infatuated King of Egypt, however, could not retain the 



64 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

lessons he had been taught, before the Hebrews left him ; so he must 
harness up his chariots of war, and pursue them. The Lord, how- 
ever, interfered, and put a cloud of darkness between them and the 
Hebrews, so that they came not nigh them. 

But when the Israelites found the Egyptians were pursuing them, 
they were in great fear, and wished they had died in bondage, rather 
than go out into the wilderness to perish. But Moses commanded 
them to wait and see the salvation of God. 

Moses then stretched his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused 
it to divide, and the waters to stand up on each side, so as to leave 
a path of dry land through the sea. Into this path the Israelites 
went, and so passed over to the other side, and thus escaped their 
enemies. 

Pharaoh and his host, " trusting in their chariots? attempted the 
fearful pass. But when Moses got upon the other side, he raised 
his rod over the sea, and Pharaoh and his host were drowned in the 
midst. 

For this remarkable deliverance the children of Israel sung, with 
great joy, the song of Moses — rehearsing the interposition of God 
in their behalf. 

After this they took their journey into the wilderness, and, while 
they were beset with trials and privations on every hand, many 
began to murmur. But these complaints were in a measure silenced 
by the Lord sending manna for bread, and giving Moses power to 
furnish water out of the rock, and thus satisfy all their wants. 

Not long after, Moses had to encounter Amalek, a king, in the 
way they were going. But, as long as Moses was able to hold up 
his rod, Israel prevailed over their enemies ; and when Moses was 
weary of holding up his hand himself, he was aided by Aaron. 

After this success against Amalek, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, 
came to him in the wilderness, and brought him his wife and chil- 
dren, who had been at Jethro's during the exodus of the Hebrews 
from Egypt. Jethro, seeing that the labor of attending to all the civil 
and religious concerns of so great a people was too much for Moses, 
suggested a different plan, which was this : Moses was to be the 
head man, and all important questions were to be referred to him ; 
but, to relieve him from all the little vexing quarrels that might 
arise, suitable men were to be appointed to act as judges, in sections 
of tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands. An appeal could be made, 
in cases of doubt, from the judge of tens to the one of fifties, and 
so on to Moses, who sought wisdom of God. This plan was 
adopted, and is proved to be the best basis for the government of 
a commonwealth, ever yet devised. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 65 

Shortly after this, God gave Moses directions how to prepare the 
people for receiving the law. 

The people were to remain at the foot of the mount (Sinai), and 
there wait Moses' return. He had been directed to prepare two 
tables of stone, and bring them np into the mount, and the Lord 
would write on them his law : this was the giving of the law, or 
the Ten Commandments. A variety of other directions were 
given, respecting social life, justice, worship, etc., which served as 
the laws of the Israelites during their journeyings and after their 
settlement in Canaan. 

In order to keep the worship of God the more easily and con- 
stantly before the people, Moses is ordered to make a tabernacle 
for the purpose. This was to serve as a substitute for a permanent 
house of worship during the journeyings of the Israelites, and so 
was constructed on a plan convenient for frequent removals. 

In shape, it was forty-five feet long, fifteen wide, and fifteen high. 
Its material was boards and pillars for the walls, its coverings and 
partition of finely- wrought curtains. It had two apartments ; the 
first was the ordinary place of worship, while the second contained 
the " ark of the covenant," and over it was seen the visible glory 
of God's presence ; this was the " holy of holies." 

Around the tabernacle was an enclosure of pillars and curtains, 
eight feet high, one hundred and fifty feet long, and seventy-five 
wide. Within this enclosure the sacrifices and offerings were made. 

When Moses directed the people to bring in their offerings for 
the tabernacle, such was their liberality, that he had to issue 
express orders to restrain them ; they gave more than was needed. 

As soon as Moses had finished the tabernacle, and all its utensils, 
and consecrated them, the heads of the different tribes made a dona- 
tion, for the service of the sanctuary, of bullocks, rams, lambs, goats, 
gold, silver, flour, and oil, to the amount of $636,000. 

The pillar of cloud rested upon the tabernacle, and when it stood 
still, the people stayed in their place ; and when that moved, they 
understood it to be a sign from the Lord for them to follow. 

The " ark of the covenant," was an oblong chest, made on 
purpose to hold the tables of the Law, and was kept with the He- 
brews continually, and esteemed as very sacred. It formed, after- 
wards, a very important article in the sacred furniture of the tem- 
ple. A great variety of other vessels were made, at great expense, 
to celebrate the various rites of their imposing worship — the styles 
and uses of which were communicated to Moses by the Lord. 

Upon the tabernacle being set up, the Lord directs Moses to take 
Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them to the office of the priest- 

9 



6Q HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

hood. This being done, Aaron proceeded to make the appropriate 
offering, when the fire descended from heaven and consumed it 
upon the altar. When the people saw this, they fell upon their 
faces. In this consecration, the whole tribe of Levi was set apart 
perpetually to the office of the priesthood, to do the service of the 
sanctuary. 

The Mosaic ritual is very complicated, and would require more 
space for insertion here than can be afforded, consistent with the 
design of this work. In the observance, however, of this form of 
worship, God often manifested his presence and approbation. 

In consequence of the disobedience of the people, the Lord 
caused them to wander in the wilderness forty years, during which 
Moses was their lawgiver, leader, and mediator between the people 
and Jehovah. This important post Moses held during life, when 
he was succeeded by Joshua. As they drew near the Promised 
Land, Moses rehearsed, in his famous song, the wonders of their 
deliverance and journey. 

Moses followed the example of the patriarchs, in, closing up his 
labors with a programme of the duties of the people, and a pro- 
phetic vision of their history as the seed of promise. Thus, after 
giving the Israelites ample laws, a pure religion, a sure encourage- 
ment of possessing the Promised Land, appointed for them a com- 
petent successor of himself, and assured them that their prosperity 
and continuance as a chosen people depended wholly upon their 
faithfulness to the Lord, he blessed them, and prepared to die. 

Through all these long, complicated, and wearisome duties of 
Moses' eventful life, his natural strength was not abated, nor did his 
eyesight become dim ; yet his time had come to die. It pleased the 
Lord not to let Moses enter the land of Canaan ; this was for some 
impatience in the midst of trials ; bat he was permitted to see that 
his great labors were owned of God, and that the people of Jacob 
would possess the Promised Land. 

Moses now took leave of the children of Israel, all snugly en- 
camped on the plains of Moab. The Lord called him up into Mount 
Nebo, to the peak Pisgah, and there showed him all the country in 
sight, to assure him this was the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, and to their seed. Then turning his eyes once more, 
and for the last time, saw the tents of Israel below, and then 
closed his eyes in the long sleep of death, aged one hundred and 
twenty years. This occurred in 2553 A. M., and 1451 B. C. The 
children of Israel mourned for him thirty days. The place of his 
grave was never known. 

Moses was the first writer of the Scriptures, having written the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 67 

first five books of the Bible (called the Books of Moses ; also 
called " The Pentateuch)." 

Joshua. — The entrance of Israel into Canaan not being com- 
pleted at the death of Moses, Joshua succeeds him as the leader 
and deliverer of the people. 

The first notice we have of Joshua is in the war with Amalek, 
where he was appointed to the chief command. In this conflict 
Joshua proved himself valiant and victorious. 

As the Israelites drew near the Promised Land, the Lord directed 
Moses to send one of each tribe into the land of Canaan, as spies, 
to get a report of it and its inhabitants. Among them were Caleb 
and Joshua ; and they two, of all the company, brought back a 
good report of the land. They insisted upon its being a land flow- 
ing with milk and honey ; and that, if the Lord would delight in 
them as a people, they were abundantly able to go up and possess 
it at once. 

In order to avoid all contention or doubt as to Moses' successor, 
the Lord directs him to take Joshua and set him before Eleazer 
the priest, and before all the congregation of the children of Israel, 
and lay his hands upon him, and give him charge in their sight, so 
that they might all know of Joshua's appointment. He was further 
to ask counsel of Eleazer, and thereby a good care of the people 
would be secured. All things being now ready, Joshua was pre- 
pared to take the administration as soon as Moses should die. 

Upon the announcement of Moses' death, Joshua's first move 
was to put the people in motion for the land of promise. None 
were ordered to march, upon three days' notice, only the armed 
men ; these were to go before. 

With the order to march, God also gave Joshua much counsel 
and encouragement ; viz., that if he would keep the book of the 
law, peruse, and meditate upon it, and do all it required, and be of 
good courage, none of his enemies should be able to stand before 
him ; for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. 

Joshua then gave his generals orders to have all things in readi- 
ness to pass over Jordan in three days. In reply to these orders, 
they all declared themselves ready to do and go as he should 
direct ; as they had obeyed Moses, so they would Joshua. 

In order not to be taken by surprise, Joshua sent over two spies, 
to take observations about Jericho. The King of Jericho, hearing 
of their presence in the country, made a smart attempt to catch 
them ; but they, not without difficulty, escaped from their pursuers, 
and returned to Joshua. 

The report they made to him was respecting their being pursued, 



68 THE TRAIL OF HISTORY. 

and how they were assisted by a woman of the city to make their 
escape ; and that, for this aid, they promised her and her father's 
family protection, when they should enter the country. Also, that 
the news of God's dealing with them at the Red Sea, and with the 
kings in their way, had reached the people over Jordan, and they 
were full of fear, and their hearts melted in them. 

As they came to Jordan, the last signal for advancing was given 
to the people. This was, that the priests who carried the " ark of 
the covenant," should go before into the river, and the people were 
to follow, two thousand cubits (about three-fourths of a mile) be- 
hind them. 

As the priests stepped into the water, the river parted, and left a 
dry path for them to pass over. 

The priests advanced to the middle of the river, and there halted 
until the armed men passed over, and then, after them, all the rest 
of the people. Before the priests moved, twelve men, one from 
each tribe, were chosen to take twelve stones, one for each tribe, 
from the bottom of the river, and carry over. This being done, the 
priests were then ordered to pass over from the middle of the river. 
As soon as this was done, the water flowed on again as before. 

The twelve stones taken out of the river, Joshua took and set up 
in Gilgal, as the Lord directed, that the generations after them 
might be reminded that by a mighty hand God had brought them 
through the river into this great and good land. ~Not only that 
they should remember the event, but be taught thereby to fear and 
serve him, from generation to generation. Here, also, they made 
their first encampment, after passing over Jordan. 

This miraculous event put all the inhabitants of the land in great 
terror ; so that they shut themselves up within their cities, and went 
not out and in, for fear. Joshua improved this occasion to circum- 
cise the people. The covenant of circumcision was given to Abra- 
ham, and had been observed by his posterity ; but as all the men of 
war who came out of Egypt died in the wilderness, and those 
whom Joshua led over the river had grown up in the journey, and 
had not been circumcised, it was necessary to attend to it the first 
opportunity. 

This done, they next observed the Passover — the solemn feast 
established to commemorate the deliverance in Egypt, when the 
destroying angel passed over their first-born. 

On the day following the Passover, they ate of the old corn of 
the land ; and from that time God sent them no more manna. Thus, 
in just forty years from the institution of the Passover, on that fear- 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 69 

ful night in Egypt (corresponding to the fourteenth of March), the 
seed of Abraham are fed and lodged in the land of promise. 

The preliminaries of entering Canaan being now over, Joshua 
turns his eyes to look toward Jericho. As he looked, behold a Man 
stood before him, with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua drew 
near, and asked him, " Art thou for us, or for our adversaries ? " 

And he said, " Nay ; but as the Captain of the host of the Lord, 
am I come." Then Joshua fell on his face before him, and inquired 
what word he had to tell him. 

The Captain answered him, in the first place, as the Lord did 
Moses, when he drew near the burning bush : " Loose thy shoe from 
thy foot, for the place where thou standest is holy." Next, the 
Captain — i. e., the Lord — gave Joshua directions how to take the 
walled city, Jericho. 

The plan of operation being given him, like all faithful servants 
of God, Joshua went immediately about its execution. The dispo- 
sition of his forces was on this wise : A large and heavy body of 
armed men were to lead in the procession ; next to them were to 
follow seven priests, with seven rams' horns ; next, there were to 
follow the priests, bearing the " Ark of the Covenant ; " and behind 
them a strong rear-guard. 

In this order the whole procession was to march around the city, 
once a day, for six successive days. None of the company was to 
make any noise in this tramp, only the shrill blast of the priests 
upon their horns. On the seventh day, they were to compass the 
city seven times ; and at the end of the seventh round, the people 
were to shout, with the blowing of the horns. With what fearful 
suspense the people of Jericho must have awaited the interpreta- 
tion of all this, to them, unmeaning parade ! With the miracle of 
Jordan fresh in their minds, they could be filled with naught but 
forebodings of evil. 

After Joshua had led the people around the city for the last time, 
and the priests prepared for the final terrible blast, he cries out to 
them, " Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city /" The walls 
all fell flat, and Jericho, and its people, and all the spoil, fell into the 
hands of Joshua. 

Having taken Jericho, and redeemed the pledge of the spies to 
Rahab and her friends, Joshua next prepared to take Ai. Spies 
were also sent to take observations around it, and returned with a 
report, that " two or three thousand would be quite sufficient, with- 
out the whole army being engaged." 

The requisite number was sent out, the attack commenced, when 
the men of Ai sallied forth, and the Israelites were repulsed. 



TO HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

This defeat gave Joshua and the Elders of Israel great distress, 
so that they fell before the " ark," and put dust upon their heads. 

Whilst thus bewailing their reverses, the Lord said to Joshua, 
Get thee up ; why liest thou upon thy face ? Israel hath sinned, 
hence you can never stand before your enemies, until this accursed 
thing be removed. 

An investigation was appointed, by which search was made 
through all the people, first by tribes, families, and individuals. 
This course resulted in the detection of Achan, the son of Carmi, of 
the tribe of Judah. He immediately confesses, that among the 
spoils of Jericho he saw a goodly Babylonish garment, and a wedge 
of gold, which he took for himself, and hid them in his tent, and 
there they are now. 

This was specially displeasing to the Lord, as he had commanded 
the destruction of all the spoils, and the dedication of the gold and 
silver to the treasury of the Lord, for his service. Hence the 
great offence he committed against the Lord, and his selfishness 
in trying to better his own condition, by purloining from the com- 
mon treasure. 

But God, the Judge, pronounced the terrible sentence, that who- 
ever was taken, he and all his should be burnt with fire ; while the 
j^eople were made the executioners ; and they took Achan, his 
family, and all his flocks and cattle, and stoned them to death, 
burnt them, and the goods he had taken, with fire, and heaped upon 
them a great heap of stones, in the valley of Achor. 

Evil being thus put away from Israel, the Lord encourages 
Joshua, saying, that Ai should be given into his hands ; and in- 
structs him in the plan of operation against it. This plan was, to 
send a detachment in front of the city, as before, and another to go 
in the rear, by night, and lie in ambush. 

When Joshua commenced the assault upon the city, the people 
of Ai sallied forth, and Israel retreated, as before. The soldiers of 
Ai, supposing the flight to be a defeat, pursued Joshua's army 
hotly. The ambush were to enter the city, and set fire to it, as 
soon as its defenders were gone out, and the smoke thereof was to 
be the signal to Joshua, to face about and give battle. This unex- 
pected turn of affairs, gave the men of Ai great surprise ; for when 
they turned and saw their city on fire, and the hosts of Israel before 
and behind them, their hearts melted in them, and that day they 
became an easy prey to Joshua, the Lord's servant. 

Having a little season of repose now, Joshua erects an altar to 
Jehovah, of whole, or unhewed stones, and offered burnt and peace 
offerings. He also gathered the people together around the ark, 
and read to the whole congregation, all the law written by Moses. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 71 

The tribes in the hill-country were differently impressed with the 
successes of Joshua. 

The people of Gibeon were put in fear, and prepared themselves 
with old clothes and bread, as though they had come from afar, and 
desired conditions of peace, which they accomplished. 

Joshua, on finding out the deception, kept his agreement, but made 
them hewers of wood and drawers of water. 

But Adonizedek, King of Jerusalem, stirred up four neighboring 
kings to join him in revenge upon the important city of Gibeon, for 
making: allegiance with Joshua. 

The people of Gibeon being alarmed at this coalition against them, 
sent in great haste to Joshua for assistance. This circumstance gave 
Joshua a strong ally, in the city of Gibeon. He made haste and 
went up, and all the mighty men of valor ; the Lord assuring him 
that none of these men should be able to stand before him. Besides 
all that were slain by the sword, the Lord sent a shower of hail- 
stones upon the armies of the kings, which destroyed more than the 
sword. 

But many of them being left yet, Joshua desired to make a fur- 
ther end of the work, and for this purpose he prayed the Lord to let 
the sun and moon stand still for another day, without going down; 
and the Lord granted his request. So, by the Lord's help, he com- 
pletely routed and scattered his enemies. The five kings fled, and 
hid in a cave at Makkedah. 

Their retreat being made known to Joshua, he ordered the cave to 
be stopped up with great stones, and a guard placed over it, until 
they could pursue and destroy the rest of their enemies. This being 
clone, the cave was opened and the five kings brought forth, when 
Joshua's captains put their feet upon the necks of the kings ; they 
were then slain, hanged on five trees until evening, then taken down 
and buried under a heap of stones. 

In this affair, we see the enmity mentioned in the curse upon Eve, 
between her seed and the seed of the wicked ; and how the kings 
bruised Joshua's heel, but he bruised their heads. That same enmity 
still exists between the church and the world. 

So Joshua slew these kings, and conquered their country : showing 
that they who fight against God, shall surely be overthrown. 

After this, Jabin, King of Hazor, took the same course as Adonize- 
dek had just taken ; viz., to form a confederacy with the surrounding 
kings, against Joshua. But they had not counted the cost, though 
their men, horses, and chariots, consisted of hundreds of thousands. 
The Lord was on Joshua's side, and he accomplished the work God 



72 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

told him he should ; he slew their men, cut the heel-cords of their 
horses, and burnt their chariots with fire. 

This great battle completed the conquest of the Promised Land 
— Joshua having taken possession of it, and destroyed thirty-one 
kings. 

The conquest of Canaan being so far gained as to give the people 
room to dwell, the Lord gave Joshua directions to proceed to the 
division of the land, among the tribes. 

A full account of this survey and division, can be seen in the Book 
of Joshua ; and it need only be added here, that those portions of 
the country unconquered at this time, were included in the division, 
with reference to future possession. It is to be observed, also, that the 
tribe of Levi had no inheritance among the other tribes, as they were 
wholly set apart to the priesthood. Several cities, however, were 
granted them by special privilege. 

Thus God made large provision for ministers, who should teach, 
expound, and urge attention to the law of the Lord. 

Joshua's work being now about finished, he imitates the patriarchs, 
by calling the people of his charge together, and delivering his fare- 
well discourse. Feeling the weight of the cause in which he had 
spent his life, and knowing it to be God's cause, he speaks like a dying 
man to dying men. 

He first refers them to the land in which they were now settled, 
and ascribes all this success to the special and direct blessing of the 
Lord ; and then aims to impress upon their minds the duty of loving 
and serving him, with all constancy and fidelity : assuring them, 
also, in the most positive manner, that God will not aid them against 
their enemies unless they did trust in him. 

In a second and last public address to the people, Joshua rehearsed 
the dealings of the Lord with them, from Abraham's time to his ; giv- 
ing them the same pungent assurance, that it was the Lord God who 
had cared for them all the way through. 

He then urges upon them, in the most pathetic, earnest, and im- 
ploring manner, to make choice of the Lord, instead of the idols of 
the heathen, as their object of worship. After they had vowed sol- 
emnly their fidelity to the Lord, Joshua set up a stone under an oak, 
as a perpetual witness of the oath between them. Thus his last soul- 
stirring effort was to fix the impression upon the minds of the peo- 
ple, that their refuge was in God ; and that if they forsook him, he 
would assuredly forsake them. 

Joshua's work being now finished, and having arrived at the same 
age as Joseph, he died in 2561 A. M., and 1443 B. C, aged one hun- 
dred and ten years. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 73 

The interment of Joseph's bones took place about this time, as he 
requested, and as they promised him, in the sepulchre of his fathers. 

Eleazar, the high-priest, died also about this time, just as Aaron, 
the first high-priest, died near the time Moses did, Israel's first 
leader; so Joshua, their second leader, and Eleazar, their second 
priest, passed off the stage together. 

Phineas, son of Eleazar, and grandson of Aaron, succeeded his 
father in the high priesthood. 

Being now well established in the country, and having a prospect 
of peace, the tabernacle is again set up, and divine worship once more 
enjoyed. It is said the tabernacle stood at Shiloh, about three hun- 
dred and twenty-eight years. 

It is stated that on a pillar erected by the Carthaginians, near the 
" Pillars of Hercules " (i. e. the Straits of Gibraltar, in Africa), there 
was seen, in the time of Justinian, an inscription thus : " We are 
fugitives from the face of Joshua, the robber, the son of ISTun." 

The allegation of " robber, " as applied to Joshua, is void of all 
truth, when viewed in the light of facts. True, he " drove them out ; " 
but to whom did the land belong ? God gave it to Abraham and his 
seed, as a possession ; hence Joshua was an heir to the land — Israel's 
inheritance. While the Israelites were in bondage, the Canaanites 
entered the land merely as squatters ; or like a man walking into 
another's house, while he is gone, and taking possession. When the 
rightful owners came to the land, the squatters refused to go out, and 
so Joshua drove them out. With them " might was right ; " but 
Joshua only maintained his right by might. Hence the apology for 
the Israelites taking possession of the land of promise. This right 
was extinguished when " Shiloh " (Christ) came. 



PERIOD II. PROM JOSHUA TO THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON, 2561 A. M„ 1443 B. C, TO 
3000 A. K, 1004 B. C. 

Interregnum. — It pleased the Lord to appoint no successor to 
the office held by Moses and Joshua. Upon the death of the latter, 
the management of affairs devolved upon each tribe by itself. The 
office of high-priest continued in Phineas, while that of commander-in- 
chief fell into the hands of the Judges. Each tribe was now left, to 
finish in its own division of the land, the expulsion of its enemies, 
and the establishment of civil and religious order. In this, some- 
times a tribe would prosecute its work under its head, or judge ; 
and sometimes two or more tribes would unite and appoint the most 

10 



74 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

suitable person among them to take the chief command of the enter- 
prise. The Lord, however, was still the guide and counsellor of the 
people, just as in the days of Moses and Joshua, when they called 
upon him. 

After the death of Joshua, the people inquired of the Lord which 
tribe should lead in going up against the enemy. The lot fell upon 
Judah. 

The first important point gained, was the city of Jerusalem, which 
they took with ease ; and its king also fell into their hands. 

Upon this successful lead by Judah, several of the other tribes made 
war upon the inhabitants of the land, and gained numerous and impor- 
tant victories. Instead, however, of " driving out " the inhabitants 
of the land, as the Lord had specially directed them, the Israelites 
were content to subdue their enemies, and keep them in the land, but 
under tribute. 

For this unwarranted departure from the policy Joshua taught 
them, the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and administered a 
severe reproof; saying, also, that these nations should remain as the 
Israelites had chosen to have them, but should be as thorns in their 
sides. An apparent reform followed this message, as the people wept 
aloud, and sacrificed to the Lord. 

But they soon relapsed into the worship of the idols of the heathen, 
which caused the Lord to leave them to be overcome by their ene- 
mies ; and their distress was great. The Lord sent them deliverers, 
to persuade them to serve him ; but as soon as they were at ease 
again, they departed from him. In addition to image-worship, the 
Israelites had intermarried with the people of the land, which had 
been expressly prohibited, and was a great snare. 

A very striking affair is mentioned in the last chapters of the Book of 
Judges, which is supposed to have occurred in the course of the time 
between Joshua and the Judges. 

A Levite returning home from his father-in-law's with his wife, 
turned aside to tarry all night in Gibeah. In the night the house 
was surrounded by a party of lewd fellows, of the baser sort, who 
demanded the surrender of the man's wife into their hands. The 
man of the house expostulated with them for a time, but was forced 
to yield to them, when they proceeded to abuse the woman until she 
died. She was found dead at the door of the house in the morning. 

The Levite took her and departed to his own place, and there divided 
her into twelve pieces, and sent a piece to each tribe, appealing to 
them for redress. Response to the call was made from Dan to Beer- 
sheba, with Gilead, and unto Mizpeh. Delegates from all the tribes 
assembled. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 75 

When all was ready, the case was called, and the Levite related 
his grievance as above. The decision was, that all the tribes declared 
they would not return home, until redress was obtained. 

The first thing was, to demand of the people of Gibeah the surren- 
der of the vile fellows who committed the offence, to be executed. 
This they obstinately refused to do, when the sword was drawn, and 
in three battles there fell on both sides sixty-five thousand men of 
war, besides women and children. All this to put evil away from 
Israel. This cut off the women, so that the Benjaminites who were 
left were without wives ; and not being allowed to marry into each 
other's tribe, a necessity arose, in which a supply must be furnished, 
or the tribe of Benjamin must be cut off entirely. 

A device was got up : at the feast of Shiloh the young men were 
to lie in wait, and when the maidens came out into the vineyard, each 
was to seize him a maid, and so supply themselves with wives. Thus 
the tribe of Benjamin was preserved. 

These and other proceedings occupied about thirty years — from 
Joshua to the first Judge ; during which time the generation of 
Joshua's time passed off, and a new class came upon the stage of 
action. Eight years of this time the Lord had given Israel into the 
hands of the King of Mesopotamia, who subdued and oppressed them 
greatly. 

In the midst of this oppression, they cried unto the Lord, and he 
sent them a deliverer. 

Othniel. — He was younger brother to Caleb, and the first of 
the so-called " Judges of Israel." The Lord was with him by his 
Spirit, and delivered into his hands the King of Mesopotamia, and 
thereby gave Israel rest for forty years. 

Ehud, — The second Judge, delivered Israel from the oppression of 
Eglon, King of Moab, and they had rest eighty years. During this 
time a better state of things prevailed, until a relapse. 

Shamgar, — The third Judge, ended the oppression of Philista. 
He slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. 

Deborah and Barak. — Deborah was a prophetess, and fourth in 
office of Judge. Israel, for their sins, were again in trouble with 
Jabin, King of Canaan, and oppressed by him. Sisera was general of 
Jabin's forces, which could boast of nine* hundred chariots of iron ; 
while Barak was general of Israel, who was called and commissioned by 
Deborah, from the Lord, and with ten thousand men was ordered to 
marshal his forces on Mount Tabor. Sisera, learning that Barak was 
ready to give battle, put his chariots in motion, and when arrayed, 
Barak descended upon him, and drove him, and pursued his army and 
slew them all. Returning to look after Sisera, who deserted his sol- 






76 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 



diers, he found him in a tent, dead, whither he had gone to hide and 
rest ; when Jael, wife of Heber, took a hammer and drove a nail 
through his temples while he was asleep. 

This ended the oppression of Jabin, King of Canaan, and the land 
had rest forty years. During these spaces of rest from oppression, 
were the seasons of religious enjoyment and prosperity. Sad to say, 
also, repose was but too favorable to the relapses which involved the 
children of Abraham in the snares of idolatry, and the judgments 
of the Lord. 

Gideon. — The fifth Judge of Israel, delivered them from the 
oppression of Midian. In all cases where the people turned to idols, 
God made the Canaanites thorns in their sides for the same ; and 
when they repented and reformed, he just as sooia turned victory on 
Israel's side. 

While Israel cried to the Lord because of the oppression of the 
Midianites, the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon in Ophrah, 
as he threshed wheat, and saluted him thus : " The Lord is with thee, 
thou mighty man of valor ! " 

Gideon at once replies, Why, if the Lord be with us, are we 
thus afflicted ? He then demands a sign from the angel, to satisfy 
him that the message was from the Lord. To obtain this he prepared 
a kid as a sacrifice, and placed it upon a rock, when the angel put 
forth his rod and touched the rock, and fire came out of the rock and 
burnt the sacrifice. This evidence of a call from the Lord, filled Gid- 
eon with great emotion. 

He was then directed by the Lord to pull down his father's altar 
to Baal, cut down the grove around it, erect in the place of it an 
altar to the Lord, take a bullock for a sacrifice, and with the wood of 
the grove offer up a burnt sacrifice. 

When it was found what Gideon had done, the Baalites demanded 
of his father that Gideon should be slain. But his father, Joash, 
replied, if Baal be a god, let him avenge himself, for the overthrow of 
his altar. 

Gideon then asked another proof of the Lord, that he should deliver 
Israel. He asked the Lord to allow him to spread a fleece of wool 
on the ground, and if the dew was on the fleece only, then he would 
believe that Israel would J^e delivered by him: and it was even so 
w T ith the fleece. 

Then he plead for one sign more only, if the Lord would not be 
displeased ; that he might spread the fleece again, and let the dew 
be on the ground, and not on the fleece, and then he would be satis- 
fied : and that was even so, as he requested. 

Gideon then moved forward, and pitched his army in sight of the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. T7 

Midianites. In order that the hosts of Israel might not fall into the 
mistake, that because they were so many, they had conquered Midian 
in their own strength, the Lord reduced the detachment that was to 
go with Gideon. 

In the first place, Gideon was to proclaim, that all that were faint- 
hearted were to leave the field and return. Twenty-two thousand 
left at this, and only ten thousand remained with Gideon. The Lord 
then told him to take these to the water, and all who could not lap 
water like a dog, were to stay behind, and not go to the war. This 
reduced the number to three hundred only. Thus the Lord put 
Gideon to as sharp a test as he had the Lord, with the fleece. 

In the evening Gideon and one of his officers, Phurah, went out to 
view the position of the enemy ; and as they came near one of their 
outposts, or advance guards, they overheard two of them talking. 

They listened, and found one was telling the other a dream he had : 
that he saw a barley-cake come rolling down the mountain, and it 
struck a tent of Midian, and all the tents fell to the ground. And his 
fellow answered, " This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the 
son of Joash, a man of Israel ; the Lord hath delivered Midian into 
his hand." 

Gideon was now satisfied that Midian would fall before him, as the 
Lord had said. He returns to his men, divides them into three com- 
panies of one hundred men each, furnishes them with trumpets, lights 
in pitchers, so as to. carry their lights unobserved until the moment 
for use. The stratagem lay, in suddenly presenting to the sight of 
the enemy a glaring light, with a thrilling blast of trumpets, and a 
tremendous shout, and so put the enemy into confusion and dis- 
may. 

Gideon commanded one division in person, and a signal from him 
was to engage the whole force. Soon they were on their winding 
way, and came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the 
middle watch, just as the Midianites had put on a new guard. ~No 
sooner on the spot than the work began. Gideon and his division 
blew and shouted, and the other comjjanies did the same, broke their 
pitchers, and cried, " The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." 

Such an unexpected, unusual, and terrific assault, at dead of night, 
put the whole camp of Midian in such alarm and confusion, that they 
could only seek refuge in flight, and that in the greatest disorder. 
Their numbers were as the grasshoppers in the valley ; but in their 
defeat, they were as chaff before the whirlwind. 

Having put the enemy to rout, Gideon then sent out orders to the 
tribes to fall in all around, and pursue them, until they were destroyed. 

After returning from the overthrow of Midian, the Israelites 



78 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

desired Gideon to rule over them, and that his sons should succeed 
him upon his throne. To this Gideon gave the most prompt and 
decisive refusal ; saying, " The Lord shall rule over you." 

So Israel was again delivered from their oppressors, and had a space 
of quiet for forty years ; when Gideon also died, in a good old age. 

Thus, in the deliverance of Israel again, the Lord so ordered the 
whole affair, that the glory belonged exclusively to himself. He will 
have the glory due to him, in all the affairs of men. 

Abimelech. — He was sixth Judge, but only for a short time. 
Gideon had refused to reign over Israel, when requested, or have his 
sons ; but Abimelech sought this office unasked, and even acted the 
usurper, to gratify his ambition. 

He was a son of Gideon, and had seventy brothers. These he 
judged by himself, and imagined that they were designing to assume 
the reins of Judgeocracy. To this he aspired himself; and to make 
the way clear, he supposed it necessary to get these brethren out of 
the way. Accordingly he went to Shechem, and, by his insinuations 
against his brothers, induced the people of that city to enter into a 
conspiracy with him to put them to death. 

Without stopping to count the cost, the Shechemites second his 
perfidy, and draw funds out of the treasury of an idol temple there, 
and give it to Abimelech ; and w T ith it he hires a posse of vain and 
light persons, and proceeds to inaugurate his usurpation. 

His first demonstration was to enter his father's house, seize his 
brothers, and put them all to death, except Jotham, the youngest, 
who escaped his hands. After this, the Shechemites assembled at 
Millo, and made Abimelech king, or judge, of Israel, without con- 
sulting the other tribes at all. 

The Shechemites having thus committed themselves openly to a 
base scheme, Jotham went there and called them together, and said, 
" Hearken to me, that God may hearken unto you." He then spoke 
a parable, thus : The trees went forth to choose a king ; the office 
was tendered to the olive-tree, then to the fig-tree, then to the vine ; 
but all declined (just as Gideon and his sons had done). The oifer 
was then made to the bramble, and accepted, with almost ironical 
boasting (this was like Abimelech). If you have done well by my 
brethren and father, then rejoice in Abimelech ; but if not, then let 
him devour Shechem, and let fire come out of Shechem and devour 
Abimelech. Jotham then fled, for fear of Abimelech. 

This opened the eyes of the Shechemites to their folly, and the 
overthrow of the bramble. They then formed a conspiracy against 
Abimelech. 

This was immediately told to Abimelech, when he turned in wrath 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 79 

towards Shechem — not for the same purpose as before, but to destroy 
it. He laid siege to it, destroyed it, and sowed it with salt. And 
finding a large number had fled into an idol temple, he set it on fire, 
and destroyed them all. Thus fire came forth from Abimelech, upon 
Shechem. 

For some offence given him (for joining the conspiracy, possibly), 
Abimelech besieged Thebez, a city near by. The people fled to the 
tower ; and, from the top of it, a woman cast a piece of a millstone 
upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull. 

To escape the stigma of being killed by a woman, he called upon 
his armor bearer to thrust him through with his sword. 

Tola. — After the wicked conspiracy of Abimelech was over- 
thrown, Tola, the seventh judge, succeeded him in the office. Twenty- 
three years he judged Israel, and enjoyed rest from the disturbances 
which so often put the nation in commotion. 

J air. — The eighth judge, next held the office twenty-two years. 
He had thirty sons, who, from having thirty cities assigned them, 
probably assisted their father in administering a good government. 

Jephthah. — He was chosen to be the ninth judge of Israel. The 
relapse into idolatry, which brought on the oppression of Ammon, was 
the most general and gross of any on record. The Israelites seem 
to have lost all sense of gratitude or obligation to God, for the great 
deliverances he had wrought for them, and turned verily to dumb 
idols. 

When they began to call upon the Lord to deliver them, he, in 
order to lead them to a more sincere and lasting repentance, turned 
them away, and told them to go and call upon the gods they chose 
to serve. He had repeatedly delivered them, but apparently to little 
effect. 

Seeing they were rejected of the Lord, they began to feel their 
awful condition ; and were led not only to ask help against their ene- 
mies, but were brought to make humble confession of their sins, with 
fervent supplication. 

Then the Lord pitied and heard them, and Jephthah was indicated 
as a suitable person to bring deliverance to them. 

The choice of Jephthah as judge being approved by all concerned, 
and a mutual oath of allegiance being taken before the Lord, he pro- 
ceeded to execute his commission. 

He first sends messengers to the King of the Ammonites, asking 
him for his reasons for prosecuting an unjust war against Israel. He 
refers Jephthah to the time the children of Israel came into the 
country, and destroyed the Ammonites, as they went along ; and 
this was just retribution upon the Israelites. Jephthah then refers 



80 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

him to the fact, that they came to the border of the Moabites and 
Ammonites, and courteously asked the privilege of passing through 
their territory to their own land; pledging themselves to make 
good all damages, and defray all expenses. This quiet and reasonable 
proposition was flauntingly rejected, when Israel took liberty to pass 
through on their own conditions. 

Now, says Jephthah, to the King of Ammon, we both claim the 
country, and as war is enevitable, I want you to understand this : 
whomsoever your god, Chemosh, delivers into your hand, must sub- 
mit, of course ; and whomsoever the Lord our God delivers into our 
hands, must expect to submit, also. 

After this message was gone, Jephthah began to feel that he had 
now appealed his case to the Supreme Court of the Universe ; and 
that should the King of Ammon prevail, then it must go that Che- 
mosh w r as God, and not the Lord. Jephthah felt now that he must 
fall into the Lord's hands, or into the hands of the enemies of God 
and Israel. 

In his extreme earnestness for success, he makes a rash vow, " that 
if the Lord would give him victory, when he returned in peace to his 
own house, whatsoever cometh forth to meet me shall be the Lord's, 
for a burnt-offering." The Ammonites were given into his hands to 
his heart's content ; but alas ! when he came home, who should come 
bounding forth to meet him, but his only child and daughter. 

This painful occurrence did not deter Jephthah from performing 
his vow ; but it produced so great a sympathy in behalf of the dam- 
sel, that the day of her dedication was observed by the daughters of 
Israel, by keeping four days of mourning for the daughter of Jeph- 
thah every year. 

He judged Israel six years. 

Ibzan. — The tenth judge held office seven years. Nothing special 
during his administration. 

Elon. — The eleventh judge, ruled Israel ten years. 

Abdon. — The twelfth judge, ruled eight years in Israel, and died. 

Another occasional space of rest seems to have been enjoyed about 
the time of these last judges, which, sad to relate, was usually unfa- 
vorable to the purity of religion ; as, in times of quiet, the idolatry 
of the land crept in among the professed people of God. 

Samson. — The thirteenth judge, served Israel twenty years. The 
Philistines oppressed them at this time, because they again did evil 
in the sight of the Lord. 

The choice of Samson as judge, was out of the ordinary course. 
The angel of the Lord revealed to the wife of Manoah, that she 
was to be the mother of an extraordinary son. She made known to 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 81 

her husband the message she had received, and Manoah entreated 
the Lord for another interview with the angel. This was granted ; 
when the directions were given, that the mother should take no wine 
or strong drink, nor should any razor come upon the head of the 
child, for he was to be a Nazarite unto God. 

Manoah, not knowing who this messenger was, proposed to enter- 
tain him as a man, when he was directed to make his offering to God. 
Upon this, he prepared a burnt-offering, and, while it was burning, 
the angel ascended in the flame. Then Manoah knew that it was a 
message from the Lord. 

Samson was the son referred to above ; and, as he grew up, there 
were frequent indications, in his actions of bravery and zeal for his 
nation, that he would some day be of service in breaking the power 
of Israel's oppressors. 

The special gift with which the Lord endowed Samson, was extra- 
ordinary physical strength. 

When about twenty-two years of age, Samson desired his father 
(as the custom was) to intercede for him for a wife. But, to the 
grief of his parents, he sought one from among the Philistines, in- 
stead of his own nation. And as no importunity would prevail to 
turn him from his purpose, his parents both accompanied him to Tim- 
nath, to seek him a wife. 

On his way Samson met a lion, which he killed as easily as he 
would a kid, and left it in the field. The woman he went to espouse 
pleased him well. As twelve months had to elapse after the espousals, 
before she could be given him, he awaited the time. While on his 
way again to Timnath, he turned aside to see the lion, and behold, a 
swarm of bees had hived in the carcass. He took some of the honey 
and ate as he went. 

It was customary for young men, on their marriage, to give a feast. 
At Samson's there was a good attendance. For the amusement of 
the company, he put forth a riddle, promising each of the company 
a suit of clothes, if any of them could tell it. So, out of the lion and 
the bees he made his famous riddle : " Out of the eater came forth 
meat ; out of the strong came forth sweetness." 

Being unable to tell it, they persuaded his wife to get it from him, 
and tell them. So before the seventh day was out (the length of 
the feast), they said to him, ''What is stronger than a lion, or sweeter 
than honey ? " 

Samson, finding they had " ploughed with his heifer," and then 
asked the reward for telling the riddle, had due revenge upon them, 
by going and slaying thirty Philistines, and giving them the thirty 
changes of raiment off the backs of their own countrymen. This 

11 



82 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

was the first blow by which the Philistines began to learn that Sam- 
son was to be a scourge to them. 

His wife remained behind, and was given to one of those compan- 
ions. After a time Samson came back for his wife ; but the Philistines 
refusing to let him have her, he set their grain on fire, by fastening 
burning torches to the tails of foxes, and sending them loose into 
the fields. So, for this abuse to him, the Philistines made nothing. 

They then pursued him, got him bound by the aid of men of 
Judah ; but when the Philistines began to exult over him, he broke 
the cords, like burnt flax, found a jaw-bone of an ass, and slew one 
thousand of them. 

He then turned into Gaza for the night ; and finding the Philistines 
designed to kill him, he passed out of the gate, taking gates, posts, 
and bar, and carrying them to the top of the hill before Hebron. 

But he was finally snared by a woman, named Delilah. She got 
hold of his affections, and the Philistines put her up to find where 
his power lay. After directing her to several things, she began to 
accuse him of not telling her the truth, until, by much importu- 
nity, he yielded ; and told her if his locks, which had never been 
shaven, were cut, he would be like any man. Soon after this was 
done, he fell before the Philistines. 

As soon as they had reduced him, they further bound him with fet- 
ters of brass, and put out his eyes. 

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to have a great 
rejoicing over their fallen foe, whom Dagon had delivered into their 
hands. Samson was brought forth to be made sport of, and for their 
amusement, in his blindness. But as Samson stood between the two 
main pillars of the building, he took hold of them, and then prayed 
earnestly to God for his strength once more to come, which was 
answered, and he bowed himself mightily, and brought the building 
down. As a vast concourse were assembled, the number killed at 
Samson's death was more than he killed in his lifetime. Thus, not 
much was gained in this operation against the mighty man, Samson. 
He gave the Philistines a few tastes of oppression, which they were 
in daily practice of inflicting upon the Israelites. 

Samson judged Israel twenty years. 

The ease with which Samson could pull down the building in which, 
and on which, the Philistines were gathered, when once his marvel- 
lous strength came to him, is seen, when we recollect that it was cir- 
cular in form, flat roof, and supported in the centre by two main 
pillars, and upon these he laid hold. 

The Book of Judges is supposed to have been written by Samuel. 

The story of Jephthah's daughter, Samson's foxes, and of Delilah's 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 83 

cutting off the fatal locks, are all wrought into heathen mythology 
and fable ; even Samson is the very Hercules of the heathen. 

Eli. — The thirteenth judge of Israel was also priest in the taber- 
nacle at Shiloh. He one day seeing the mother of Samuel in earnest 
prayer, mistook for drunkenness her silent, earnest petition to the 
Lord, and reproved her, when he found out his great mistake. In 
due time she came to Shiloh, and offered an offering before the Lord, 
and brought also her son, and gave him to the Lord perpetually, as 
the burden of the petition she offered when Eli reproved her. 

This child, Samuel, ministered before the Lord, though the conse- 
crated priests were not required by law to commence before twenty- 
five, nor continue longer than fifty years old. Eli then blessed the 
parents of Samuel, and he grew in favor of the Lord and of men. 

But Eli had trouble with his own family. His sons were not pious ; 
they were unjust in the sacrifices, and lewd withal ; and for their 
sins Eli reproved them stoutly, but to no purpose. Upon this a 
prophecy was told to Eli, — that for the sins of his sons, specially in 
trying to enrich themselves out of the sacrifices, they should be cut 
off in their prime. 

One night, after Samuel came of proper age, the Lord called him, 
so that he awoke, and went to Eli to inquire what he wished. Eli 
told him he had not called him, and to lie down ; but he soon returned 
again, and this was repeated three times ; when Eli told him at the 
next call to say, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. The Lord 
then showed hitn what should befall Eli's sons. 

Eli, knowing that some revelation had been made to Samuel, would 
not let him go until he told him what it was. On being informed, he 
resigned himself to the will of the Lord. And it was known through- 
out Israel that Samuel was to be a prophet. 

After this, Israel went out to war against the Philistines; and, 
being beaten, Eli's sons, Hophni and Phineas, went into the taberna- 
cle at Shiloh, and took the Ark into the battle-field, thinking that 
would save them. But Eli's forebodings at this were great ; and as 
a messenger came from the camp and brought the sad intelligence 
that both his sons were slain, and the " Ark of God " taken, he fell 
from his seat backward, and, breaking his neck, died. 

The wife of Phineas also died, at the sad intelligence of the fate of 
the battle. Thus, in one day, was Eli, his two sons, and one of their 
wives, cut off; Israel defeated ; the priests slain ; the chief magistrate 
dead, and the Ark of God taken. Surely, u the glory was departed." 

Eli judged Israel forty years. 

The Philistines supposed, when they had taken the " Ark," that 
they had obtained a prize, — anticipating that the God of the 



84 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Hebrews would now go with them, and give them success against 
Israel. But upon carrying it into the temple of Dagon, and placing 
it before their idol, they found next day that Dagon had fallen 
before it. He was set up again, but next day was fallen again, and 
his head and hands broken off. This, and other things, troubled the 
Philistines, until they returned the Ark to its place, and gave an 
offering with it, so as to be entirely clear from it. How strikingly 
God showed himself to be the Lord Omnipotent, both to the heathen 
and to Israel! 

Samuel. — He is reckoned the fifteenth and last "judge," and the 
first prophet. After the death of Eli, Samuel called the people together 
at Mizpeh, and there prayed the Lord for them ; and while in the act 
of worship, the Philistines fell upon them with the sword. The Lord 
interposed for Israel by a great thunder-storm, and broke them up, 
so that Israel fell upon them, and so overcame them, that they 
troubled Israel no more during the days of Samuel. On the occa- 
sion of this triumph, Samuel raised the stone he named Ebenezer ; 
for, " hitherto, the Lord hath helped us." 

Samuel travelled in a circuit as judge, going from Raman, where he 
lived, to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh, home again. Being well along 
in years, he appointed his sons to assist him ; but complaints were 
soon made that they were bad judges. Instead of attending to jus- 
tice, judgment, and the weighty matters of the law, they turned aside 
to taking bribes, and perverting judgment. 

In consequence of this, the people became clamorous for a king, 
after the manner of the nations around them, and resolved to dis- 
pense with the office of judge henceforth. 

Samuel being directed of the Lord to yield to their clamor, the rule 
of the judges passes over into a monarchy in 2909 A. M., 1095 B. C. 

From the end of the judgearchy, which terminated with the 
rejection of Samuel's sons, his history is mingled w T ith that of the 
kings, as prophet and priest. 

Samuel was founder of the " schools of the prophets," where young 
men were instructed in the duties of the prophetic office. 

Samuel died about 1060 B. C. The schools of the prophets were 
located at Bethel, Jericho, Jerusalem, and other places, and were 
presided over by Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, etc. 

Saul. —He was first King of Israel, 2909 A. M., 1095 B. C, after 
the manner of the nations around them. The clamor of the people for 
a king displeased Samuel, and he laid the matter before the Lord, who 
directed him to yield to their request ; but first to warn them of the 
nature of the change they were about to bring upon themselves, and 
then let them choose. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 85 

Samuel then told the people that they were about to put out of 
their own hands the management of affairs, and put them into the 
hands of an absolute power. That they could no longer choose 
judges, and so rule the country; but they would have to submit, and 
not rule. 

He then enumerated some of the forms of oppression the mon- 
archy would entail, such as absolute power to draft and put their 
goodliest sons in the armies ; force them to till the ground, and make 
instruments of war (or build forts, walls, towers, chariots, etc.), under 
taskmasters, as in Egypt ; make cooks and waiters of their daugh- 
ters ; he will take as much as he pleases of your vineyards, olive-yards, 
and flocks, and ye shall be his servants ; and ye shall cry out in that 
day because of your king. But all this availed nothing ; they 
say, " Nay, but w T e will have a king." 

Saul, the son of Kish, went out one day to look for his father's 
asses ; towards night he drew near to the city where Samuel dwelt, 
and not finding the asses, said to the servant with him, Let us turn 
in and inquire of the seer, where we may find them. It happened 
that the man he inquired of, for the seer, was Samuel himself. The 
Lord told Samuel, the day before, that the future king would come 
to him next day ; so he immediately invited him home, entertained 
him with special marks of regard before the company at his own 
house. On the next day, Samuel went with Saul a little way, and 
made known to him that he was to be King of Israel. In addition to 
this, he took a horn of oil and poured it upon him, kissed him, and 
appointed the day for his coronation. 

As Saul was returning, the Lord gave him another heart ; and he 
soon met a company of prophets, joined them, and prophesied. It 
was a matter of surprise when his former acquaintances heard of this 
change, and the proverb arose, " Is Saul also among the prophets ? " 

At the time appointed, Samuel called all the people together at 
Mizpeh, to the recognition of Saul as their king. Before commenc- 
ing business, Samuel again rehearsed the condition of affairs : Ye have 
forsaken God, who brought you out of Egypt, and persist in having 
a king; now proceed. 

The choice falling upon Saul, he was brought forth, and stood head 
and shoulders above all the people ; and when they saw him, they 
shouted, " God save the king ! " 

Samuel then gave them a lecture on the administration of the 
government by a king, and sent them away home. 

The sons of Belial were not well pleased with the choice of Saul. 
But a war soon broke out with the Ammonites, in which Saul was 
victorious. Upon this, Samuel complained of the Belials as enemies 



86 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

to a prosperous king. But Saul pardoned them, and would not con- 
sent to any lives being taken ; " for the Lord hath salvation in 
Israel." 

Saul being established as king, Samuel made a formal retirement 
from office. He appealed to Israel to produce any default in his 
administration as judge, if they had any such charge. The people, 
with one voice, exonerated him from any charge of bribery, or in- 
justice ; upon which he felt at liberty to speak to them. He then 
rehearsed the Lord's dealings with them, from Moses and Aaron to 
their refusal of himself, and choice of a king ; and exhorted them, just 
as earnestly as Joshua and others had done, to be faithful to God ? 
and he would bless their king ; but, if they turned aside from him, 
he would visit them with perpetual affliction. 

In several conflicts with the Philistines, Saul and his son Jonathan 
made very good headway, as long as they obeyed the Lord. But 
when Samuel came to him with a message to go and destroy Agag, 
the Amalekites' king, and all the spoil, and his people, instead of carry- 
ing out his instructions, Saul went and fought Agag, took him and 
his princes, and the best of his spoil, and brought them up to offer 
them to the Lord. For this disobedience to orders, Samuel reproves 
him sharply; and also told him, that for rejecting the word of the 
Lord, he had also rejected him from being king. 

This filled both Samuel and Saul with great sorrow. But the Lord 
directs Samuel to arise, and fill his horn with oil, and go to Jesse the 
Bethlemite, and anoint one of his sons to be king. Samuel made 
known his errand, when Jesse called one after another of his sons, 
until all but the youngest, who was keeping the sheep. He being 
called, the Lord showed Samuel that this was his choice. So Samuel 
anointed him, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, and 
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit troubled him. 

Saul, from this, became gloomy; and hearing that a son of Jesse 
was a good musician, sent for him to come and drive dull care away. 
Being pleased with David's music, he sent a request to his father to 
have his son remain with him. Saul little thought the Spirit of the 
Lord had left him, and was upon this young shepherd boy. 

The Philistines again came out to war against Israel ; when Goliath, 
a giant and champion, defied the Israelites to single combat. To 
the utter astonishment of both parties, the son of Jesse accepted the 
challenge, and went out to meet the defiant brag of a heathen army. 
But, to the greater consternation of the Philistines, and astonishment 
of Saul, David threw a stone from his sling, which sunk into the 
giant's forehead, and he fell dead. 

From this time, Saul would not part with David, but promoted 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 8T 

him in the army, and he gained fast in the esteem of the people and 
of Saul's officers ; and as they returned from the war with the Phi- 
listines, the women sung and saluted them as they passed, ascribing 
to Saul the slaying of thousands, and David his tens of thousands. 

This unfavorable comparison of Saul with David, aroused in him 
the first spirit of jealousy towards his young rival. " What," says 
Saul, " can he have more, but the kingdom ? " Saul still seems not to 
have known that he was rejected of the Lord, and David chosen ; 
but his popularity made Saul his bitter enemy. Twice Saul made a 
direct attempt to take his life ; but failing, began to fear him, for the 
Lord was with him. 

Saul's prosperity was now waning, and David's was increasing ; 
this only made Saul the more unhappy and surly. His settled pur- 
pose was, in some way to dispose of David. But being once put 
entirely into David's power, and no violence done him, Saul was 
aroused to a sense of his own baseness, and, on the first opportunity, 
acknowledged his fault to David and besought him, when he came 
to the throne, to spare his (Saul's) family, and not cut them off from 
the nation; to which David readily acceded, as he had no evil 
intent upon the house of Saul. 

From the disobedience of Saul in the matter of Agng, his decline 
and fall are dated. His final overthrow was in a battle with the 
Philistines, in which Saul was worsted, for the archers hit him and 
wounded him sore. Seeing his end was near, rather than fall into 
the hands of his enemies, he fell upon his own sword, and died. 

David. — Notwithstanding the enmity of Saul, upon new 7 s of his 
death, David mourned that the great man had fallen ; thus showing 
his sincere friendship to his constant and open enemy. 

David is made king over the tribe of Judah only ; while Abner, 
Saul's general, gets Ishbosheth appointed king over some of the 
other tribes. This produced a civil war, as the enmity of Saul to 
David was cherished by his sons and officers. But the house of Saul 
grew weaker, while David's grew stronger. A quarrel between 
Abner and Ishbosheth resulted in Abner's deserting him and going 
over to David, which still hastened the overthrow of Saul's house. 

This brought Abner into service of David, side by side with Joab, 
David's general, and gave Joab an opportunity to take Abner's 
life, which he did, in revenge for his brother's death, whom Abner 
slew while prosecuting the cause of Saul's house. Soon after, Ish- 
bosheth was assassinated on his bed, which left the throne of Israel 
to its rightful king. 

The tribes then gathered together at Hebron, to make David King 
of all Israel. Jerusalem was not entirely subdued until now, and 



88 HISTORY OF RELIGION". 

hence the name of that portion the Jebusites had held is called the 
" City of David." 

Being now established in the kingdom, David turns his attention 
to the cause of God. The first move was to bring up the " Ark " 
from Kirjath-jearim to the City of David. This was its final recov- 
ery and return to Israel, after it was carried into the battle, when 
Eli's sons were slain and the Ark taken by the Philistines. 

Having had great prosperity in war, and being at leisure, David 
next meditates building a house for the worship of God. Hitherto 
the worship of God had been held in the tabernacle, surrounded by 
curtains, and the king thought a better arrangement was required. 
He laid the subject before Nathan, the prophet, and he bade him go 
on, and the Lord would prosper the undertaking ; and, by a vision, 
God told Nathan to inform David if he would do this, and be faith- 
ful to him at all times, his throne should be established forever. 

He did not, however, prosecute the work of building the house of 
the Lord to much advantage, owing to constant trouble by the 
invasions of the Ammonites and Syrians. In these conflicts David 
was very successful in victory, and much of the spoil taken from his 
enemies he dedicated to the Lord, to be used in the temple. 

The dark spot in the history of David is his sin with the wife of 
Uriah, one of his officers. He saw her washing herself one day ; was 
sinfully smitten with her beauty ; sent for her while her husband was 
away in the army ; took her to his own bed, and humbled her. She 
soon after informed the king that they were both involved in trouble 
that would be a serious affair. 

David then gave orders to Joab, his general, to plan some battle, 
so that Uriah would have to take a very dangerous post. The king's 
object was to get him slain, so that his wife would be free to become 
the wife of David. The plan succeeded, and Uriah was slain. 

But this thing displeased the Lord, and he sent Nathan the 
prophet to rebuke David. By an ingenious parable Nathan obtained 
David's judgment, which the prophet turned against the king with 
great force, saying, "Thou art the man!" He further pronounced 
upon him the curse of the sword as long as he lived, and a variety 
of other judgments, as the Lord directed him. 

This produced in David deep repentance, and confession, and 
reform. The child that was born' to him died. 

The next son born to David by Bathsheba was Solomon, after- 
wards king. 

One curse for David's great error was to be trouble in his own 
house. This was visited upon him, in the first place, by the incest of 
his son Amnon, with Tamar, his sister. The next domestic judgment 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 89 

was the insurrection of Absalom, David's son. He being a young man 
of good address, managed to insinuate himself into the good graces of 
the people by his condescending attentions, and boasts of the impar- 
tial administration of justice, if he could only be made judge of the 
nation ; thus he stole the hearts of the people. 

When Absalom supposed he had gained a party sufficiently strong 
to compass his ends, he pretended to David that he had a vow to 
fulfil to the Lord in Hebron. At the same time he had sent 
spies through the land, to secure a simultaneous rally around the 
standard of the king's son. The plan succeeded ; the conspiracy 
was general, and so formidable, that David thought it prudent to 
leave Jerusalem, without trying to defend it. In this way the ardor 
of the movement would subside, and time would afford opportunity 
to compass the schemes of the young usurper. 

The insurrection was easily enough started, but after that was the 
time and need for wise counsel. The young would-be king had 
neither the mature wisdom, nor the safe counsellors, of his father. 

Absalom's counsellors differed in opinion, thereby his cause was 
put in jeopardy ; but soon the opposing forces were brought into 
contact ; and the final and fatal battle was fought in the wood of 
Ephraim. In the confusion that ensued, Absalom came upon some 
of David's staff, when he fled, to make his escape ; and in his flight, 
passing under an oak, his long, flowing, beautiful hair caught in the 
limbs, dragged him from his beast, and left him hanging, to the 
mercy of his pursuers. Joab, hearing of his suspension, hastened to 
the spot, and thrust three darts through his heart, as he hung in the 
oak. 

The death of Absalom gave his father great sorrow, as well it 
might, for his presumptuous folly, and swift retribution, that num- 
bered him among the transgressors. 

Besides Amnon's and Absalom's defections, which were in his own 
house, David had frequent disturbances to quell among the friends 
of Saul. The enmity he had towards David was cherished by his 
sons, relatives, and officers; so that, literally, the sword did not 
depart from David's house. 

But the condition of his kingdom becoming more quiet, David 
turns his attention to the establishment of the worship of God. He 
buys a spot of ground, as the site of the proposed temple, erects an 
altar thereon, and offers a burnt-offering to the Lord, which was 
accepted, by his sending fire from heaven to consume it upon the 
altar. 

The altar and tabernacle set up at Shiloh had become old, and 
were left to go to decay, uj)on the worship being set up in Jerusalem. 

12 



90 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

David begins to collect iron, and other materials, for the building of 
the house of God. 

Adonijah showing symptoms of usurping the throne, it became 
necessary that David should appoint a successor. He then issued 
orders to Zadok the priest, and to Nathan the prophet, to take 
Solomon and bring him to Gihon, that he might be anointed king. 
So Solomon was caused to ride upon David's own mule, and was 
brought to Gihon, when Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of 
the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon ; and the trumpets were 
blown, and the people shouted, God save King Solomon ! 

After arranging matters as to the offices of the priests, and sing- 
ers, and captains of the hosts, David proceeds to give his final charge 
to his son. First addressing the people, he declared his purpose to 
build a house to the Lord, but was denied the privilege, because he 
had been a man of war ; but his purpose would be accomplished by 
his son. He then urged the people to continue in the law of the 
Lord, that they might remain in the land, and leave it a possession 
to generations after them. 

And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy fathers, 
and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind ; for the 
Lord searcheth all hearts. If thou seek him, he will be found of 
thee ; if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever. Take heed, 
now ; for the Lord hath chosen thee to builcT a house for the sanctu- 
ary ; be strong, and do it. He then passed over into the hands of 
Solomon a plan of the temple and its furniture, with all the im- 
mense provisions he had made for the great work. Besides iron, 
brass, and other materials, David and his princes contributed in 
gold and silver to the amount of forty-six thousand tons weight — 
valued over four thousand millions of dollars ! 

At such liberality, the people and the king rejoiced together 
greatly ; and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our 
Father, forever and ever. He then called upon the people to bless 
the Lord God of their fathers ; and they bowed down their heads 
and worshipped the Lord. And they sacrificed to the Lord that day, 
with great gladness. 

David reigned over Israel forty years ; and he died in a good old 
age, full of clays, riches, and honor, 2989 A. M., 1015 B. C. 

Dr. Delany says that David, at his death, had everything that his 
heart could wish; he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and 
honor, — having gained more renown than any other crowned head 
ever did. He was a true believer ; zealous adorer of God ; 
teacher of His law and worship, and inspirer of His praise. A 
consummate and unrivalled hero ; a skilful and fortunate captain ; 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 91 

a steady patriot ; a wise ruler ; a faithful, generous, and magnani- 
mous friend ; and, what is yet rarer, a no less generous and magnani- 
mous enemy. A true penitent, a divine musician, a sublime poet, 
and an inspired prophet. By birth a peasant, by merit a prince ; 
in youth a hero, in manhood a monarch, and in age a saint. 

As Moses died without entering the promised land, so David died 
without seeing the temple, for which he had done so much. 

Gad. — He is mentioned as a prophet. He was God's messenger 
to David on several occasions. By his advice David left the cave 
of Adullum, and appeared in Judah. He was sent to David to lay 
before him three judgments the Lord was about to use, for David's 
fault of numbering the people ; namely, a famine, or flee before his 
enemies, or a pestilence. He was one of David's biographers. 

Nathan. — A prophet, who shared largely in the confidence of 
King David. To him David made known his purpose of building 
a temple to the Lord. The Lord, however, sent Nathan to inform 
David that he would not be permitted that honor, but his son 
would. 

Nathan was also chosen to admonish David for his sin, in the mat- 
ter of Uriah's wife. He also wrote the life of David. 

Solomon. — The kingdom being now confirmed upon Solomon, 
he at once set about its affairs. His first act was to call out the peo- 
ple, with their captains and leaders, as David had arranged them, 
and all went up to Gibeon — where the tabernacle and brazen altar 
yet remained — and there offered a thousand burnt offerings. 

The night following, the Lord appeared to Solomon, and asked 
him what gift he would like. Solomon first requested the fulfil- 
ment of the promises made to his father — to establish his throne for- 
ever ; so much for the nation. Then for himself, he asked the gift of 
wisdom and Jcnoioledge, to go out and come in before this people. 

The Lord commended Solomon for his wise choice, and because 
he had not asked for wealth, honor, long life, nor the life of his ene- 
mies, he would confer upon him all these, to the extent that no king 
ever had before him, and none should ever have after him ; and all 
history confirms this promise. 

Then all the people returned to Jerusalem from Gibeon. Solomon 
married the daughter of Pharaoh, of Egypt, and was in peace with 
him, and with most of the kings round about. His reign was the 
most peaceful and prosperous of any the Jews ever enjoyed. 

A very striking evidence of Solomon's wisdom is seen in the art 
he used to ascertain which was the real mother of a living child. 
Two women, with each a child, slept in the same bed, and in the 
morning it was found that one child was dead. Both claimed the 



92 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

living child, and to settle it, they appealed to the king. He, know- 
ing that the real mother would sooner give up the child than have 
it slain, commanded a sword to be brought and divide the living 
child between them. To this the spurious mother gladly consented, 
and urged it; whereupon the king delivered the true mother her 
child. 

Solomon, by his wisdom, and the favor of the Lord upon him, had 
at this time risen to the enviable summit of kingly and national 
greatness, — his kingdom extending from the Euphrates to the Great 
Sea, and to the borders of Egpyt. Hiram, King of Tyre, hearing of 
his greatness, sent embassies of peace and good-will, both for Solo- 
mon's sake and his father's. 

Solomon responds, and makes out a contract for cedars from 
Lebanon, to be delivered in floats at Joppa, for the building of the 
temple. 

He also requests Hiram to send him a skilful artist, that could 
oversee the ornamenting of the building. 

Hiram considered the proposition made by Solomon, and accepted 
it cheerfully ; for the enterprise pleased him, as well as the compen- 
sation, which was to supply his house with provisions during the 
time. 

Arrangements being all made, the work of building now moves 
forward. Hiram furnishes all needful help in getting out the tim- 
ber, and every part goes on prosperously. The site of the temple 
was on Mount Moriah (where Abraham went to offer his son to the 
Lord), on a plot of ground about one-half mile square. 

Seven years were consumed in building it, and one hundred and 
eighty-four thousand six hundred men employed during the time. 
A minute account of the work, with its various utensils and orna- 
ments, is given in the Scriptures, all of which corresponds with the 
sumptuous provisions made by King David. 

Such care was exercised in the prej^aration of the walls even, that 
every stone was fitted for its place in the quarry ; so that the whole 
building went together without the sound of a hammer, or any tool 
of iron. 

The work being completed, next came the solemn ceremony of 
dedication. The ark was first brought into the temple by the 
priests (from the City of David), and placed in the holy of holies, still 
containing the tables of stone given to Moses in the mount. As 
soon as the ark was put in its place, the glory of the Lord filled the 
holy place, so that the priests could not stand there to minister. 

Solomon then turned toward the people and pronounced the bless- 
ing of the Lord upon them, inasmuch as the promise of the Lord to 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 93 

David, that bis son should build a house for Jehovah, was now ful- 
filled. He then offers the Dedication prayer, most fervently beseech- 
ing the Lord ever to be present at this house of prayer. 

He prays that the Lord would have pity and forgive, if two Israel- 
ites should quarrel ; if their enemies should drive them ; if famine, 
pestilence, or the plague, come ; in short, for all ills they might en- 
counter; when they pray in this house of prayer, built for God, 
hear Thou, forgive, and deliver. 

Then Solomon offered sacrifices to the amount of twenty thou- 
sand oxen, one hundred and twenty thousand sheep ; when the holy 
fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 

The Lord heard and .answered Solomon, and renewed all the 
promises to his father, and declared his constant care over him and 
his people forever, on the all-important condition that they continue 
in his precepts and obey his commandments : If ye do this, there 
shall not fail thee a man to sit upon the throne of Israel. 

Thus the temple was finished — the most magnificent building in 
the world — and the dedication continued seven days, commencing 
with the 30th of October, 3000 A. M., 1004 B. C. 



PERIOD III. FROM SOLOMON'S TEMPLE TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY, 3000 
A. II., AND 1004 B. C, TO 3416 A. M., AND 588 B. C. 

Solomon". — After the temple was finished, Solomon proceeded to 
erect a mansion for himself, after which the Lord appeared to him as 
at Gibeon. His was a prosperous reign. Of the inhabitants of the 
land he made vine-dressers and workmen of various sorts; but of 
the children of Israel he made him captains and princes, and filled 
all offices of trust and honor by them. 

Three times a year Solomon offered burnt-offerings upon the altar 
he had built for the Lord ; thus, by precept and example, he encour- 
aged the worship of Jehovah. Indeed, never before, nor after this 
time, did the temple service receive so much attention ; all the offi- 
cers, from the high-priest down, were in their lot and place ; and the 
name of the Lord God of Abraham, and of the whole earth, was 
hallowed daily and yearly at Jerusalem. 

As the peace and piety of a nation become established, commerce 
and the arts, will flourish. So Solomon and Hiram united, and fitted 
out a navy to go for gold. This shipping was built in the Red Sea, 
and, it is supposed, sailed around Africa to Spain, and along the way 



94 HISTORY OF. RELIGION. 

gathered gold, ivory, peacocks, and a variety of precious dust. Not 
only this, but he traded largely in spices, and other valuable articles, 
with the merchants of the East. Indeed, his whole retinue was 
made to dazzle with the lavish use of gold. 

His income has been estimated to have been over six hundred 
million dollars a year, — over twelve million dollars per week, and 
over one million five hundred thousand ]i>er day ! 

Such was Solomon's fame abroad, that the Queen of Sheba (south 
of Arabia) came to see him, unsolicited. Solomon made himself 
very communicative, inasmuch as the queen had taken pains to make 
him such a flattering visit, merely to see his greatness. 

All the wisdom he possessed he used to answer the questions of 
the queen, and correct any wrong information she had received. 

When she had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the magnificent 
buildings he had erected, the splendor of his table, his attendants 
and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, she fainted. She then de- 
clared that his fame in her own land was so great, that she would 
not receive it as truth ; but now she said, the half was not told me ; 
thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. She 
then pronounced his servants and men (princes) happy to have such 
a lot ; and pronounced the Lord God blessed, who delighted in Sol- 
omon, to set him on the throne of Israel. 

According to oriental custom in such royal visits, she made a pres- 
ent. Of spices and j>recious stones; she gave many; and of gold, an 
hundred and twenty talents — valued at two million seven hundred 
and three thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars. 

Solomon returned the compliment, " out of his royal bounty." 
Amount not known. 

Besides Solomon's practical wisdom, wealth, royalty and power, he 
is said to have been the author of the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, 
and the Song, in the Bible ; and also of three thousand other proverbs, 
one thousand and five songs, and to have written largely on Botany, 
Natural History, and Commerce. His history is religiously and politi- 
cally instructive. No monarch ever enjoyed such popularity and 
prosperity ; and yet he was very fir from being happy. (See Eccl.) 

Strange as it appears, yet even Solomon was afterwards drawn off 
into idolatry, so far as to favor it, at least. He followed the custom 
of those times, for kings to have many wives, and these from the 
nations about him ; and they, like Eve, led him to partake of forbid- 
den fruit. 

At this the Lord was displeased, in that he had turned away from 
following the Lord, who had appeared unto him twice, and com- 
manded him that he should not go after other gods. Wherefore the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 95 

Lord declared, that for this he would rend the kingdom out of his 
hand, and give it to his servant. 

For David's sake he would not take it out of Solomon's hands, 
but from his son's hand it should be rent ; nevertheless, one tribe 
should remain to Soloman's son, for David's sake, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake, which I have chosen. 

Hadad, of Egypt, who had gone there, got into favor with Pha- 
raoh, and married his wife's sister ; he held an old grudge against 
Israel, and went up to trouble Solomon in his latter days. 

Jeroboam, a man of valor and industry, was placed over a section 
of the people, in repairing the wall of the City of David : and feel- 
ing elated with his promotion, aspired for more than belonged to 
him. For this the king sought him, to bring him to justice, when 
he fled from Jerusalem. As he was leaving, Ahijah the prophet 
caught hold of his new garment, and tore it into twelve pieces, and 
told Jeroboam to take ten of them ; he then declared to him that 
thus the Lord would rend the kingdom out of the hands of Solo- 
mon, and ten tribes should be given to him. So Jeroboam fled to 
Shishak, King of Egypt, and remained there until the death of 
Solomon. 

Solomon's work being now done, he was gathered to his fathers, 
and was buried in the City of David, 3029 A. M., 975 B. C. 

The Book of Ecclesiastes furnishes the best comment of the peni- 
tence and piety of the great, the wise King of Israel — Solomon, 
the son of David. 

THE TEN TRIBES. 

Ahijah. — A prophet of the Lord, who resided at Shiloh. It was 
he who met Jeroboam, as he was on his way to Egypt, pulled off his 
new garment, and tore it into twelve pieces, giving Jeroboam ten of 
the pieces. This act he explained to Jeroboam, to mean that Israel 
should be rent, as a nation, and that he should have ten of the tribes 
to rule over ; at the same time assuring Jeroboam from the Lord, 
that if he and his tribes would adhere to the law of the Lord, they 
should prosper; otherwise, they should be destroyed by the nations 
about them. 

The son of Jeroboam was taken ill, when he sent his wife to Ahi- 
jah to inquire whether the child would recover or not. The prophet 
assured her that the child would die, as the Lord had revealed it to 
him ; and so it was. 

Jeroboam I. — The revolt of the ten tribes is here introduced, so 
as to dispose of them by themselves ; after which the history of 



96 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Judah -will be taken up, from the death of Solomon, and continue to 
its close. 

Jeroboam, it will be remembered, was a disaffected and disloyal 
officer under Solomon, who, by arousing the displeasure of the king, 
fled for refuge into Egypt. 

After the death of Solomon, and on the occasion of the crowning 
of Rehoboam, his son, Jeroboam came up from Egypt ; and on 
account of the severity with which Rehoboam declared he should 
administer the government, the ten tribes were offended, revolted, 
and chose Jeroboam their king. This was as the Lord had declared 
by the prophet it should be. Jeroboam made Shechem the chief 
city of his kingdom. 

He soon found that it was easier to get a kingdom, than to keep 
it. He saw that the habit of going to Jerusalem to worship, was 
strongly fixed in the minds of the Israelites, and could not be 
indulged without danger to his authority. A substitute must be 
devised, or his throne would fall. 

Not knowing but a form of godliness would do just as well, " with- 
out the power," he accordingly made two golden calves, and put one 
in Bethel, and the other in Dan, and then proclaimed to the people 
that it was too much for them to go to Jerusalem : Behold thy gods, 
which brought thee up out of Egypt. He also made houses of wor- 
ship, and appointed the lowest of the people for priests. 

But worse than all the other trouble, after he had got this sham 
in operation, there came along a man of God, and cursed his altar ; 
saying it should be destroyed. 

At this, the king put forth his hand to seize the man of God, and 
it withered, so that he could not take it back ; and the altar was 
rent, and the ashes fell. So he entreated him to ask the Lord to 
restore him his hand : and it was made as it was before. But Jero- 
boam reformed not ; and for this the curse of God followed his 
family. 

Iddo — Is supposed to be the " man of God" who cursed the altar 
of Jeroboam. On his return from this errand, he died by the way. 
The occasion of his death was disobedience. The Lord charged 
him not to stop to take refreshment from any one, during this trip. 
But another prophet persuaded him to violate this order, and he 
was found dead, slain by a lion ; the lion and an ass standing near 
him. 

Omei. — "We pass by Nadab, Baasha, Elah, and Zimri, who, with 
Omri, deserve no honorable mention, further than that the latter built 
Samaria, which thereafter became the capital of the Ten Tribes. 

Ahab, — The son of Omri, next came to the throne of Israel. He 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 97 

married Jezebel, a profligate and idolatrous Zidonian ; soon fell into 
her faith ; worshipped Baal ; made a grove, and built an altar for his 
service. Ahab did more than any king before him to provoke the 
Lord. 

Jezebel caused a great slaughter among the prophets ; one hun- 
dred and fifty of whom Obadiah concealed from her fury, and fed 
them secretly in the caves. 

During the three years' famine, foretold by Elijah, Ahab and Oba- 
diah, his governor, and a godly man, went out to find grass by the 
fountains and brooks, to keep their horses and mules from perishing; 
and, in their journey, fell in with Elijah the prophet. 

He had been instructed by the Lord to go to Ahab, and reprove 
him for his idolatry. On seeing him, Ahab tauntingly said, "Art 
thou he that troubleth Israel?" Elijah retorted the charge, and 
then challenged the king to a proof of their faith. By this means 
he drew the priests of Baal into the snare of calling upon their 
god, to answer by fire from heaven. Theirs was a most deplorable 
failure; while Elijah's God answered by fire, and consumed the 
sacrifice. 

To this proof of the Lord being God, Elijah added a strong assur- 
ance that rain was at hand, to put an end to the three years' drought ; 
and it was so. 

Ahab, six years after, was obliged to defend himself against Ben- 
hadad, King of Syria, who came up with a mighty host and besieged 
Samaria. But, trusting in his great numbers, he was at his ease ; 
when Ahab sallied forth, while the king was drinking wine in his 
tent, put his army to route, and Benhadad was obliged to take flight 
on a horse. 

The next year, he renewed the attack ; when the Lord favored 
Ahab, who put them again to flight, slaying one hundred thousand; 
and a wall of Aphek, where a part of the Syrians had fled, fell, and 
killed twenty-seven thousand more. Benhadad now begged for 
quarter, which Ahab gave him, and let him go. For this the Lord 
sent his prophet to Ahab, telling him that since he had let his 
enemy go, whom the Lord had given into his hands, Ahab's life 
should go for Benhadad's, and his people for the Syrian people. 

Ahab did not reform, although the Lord, by favors and prophets, 
sought to win him to the right. He next proposed to buy a vine- 
yard, of Naboth, that lay joining his own property. Naboth pre- 
ferred not to sell. Ahab was grieved, and took his bed ; when Jeze- 
bel laid a plot, by which Naboth was put out of the way. Ahab 
then took possession. But Elijah told him that in the place where 
clogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood. 

13 



98 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Ahab, receiving a visit from Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, proposed 
an alliance with him, to recover Ramoth-Gilead from the King of 
Syria, to which Jehoshaphat signified his assent. Ahab then con- 
sulted his Baal prophets, and was told to go on. Jehoshaphat wished 
to consult a prophet of the Lord; this being done, a contrary ver- 
dict was obtained. Ahab sent him to prison for his faithfulness, and 
rushed on to the battle. 

For some reason (possibly fear), Ahab went into the battle with- 
out his uniform, Jehoshaphat taking the formal command. But this 
did not shield the Baalite king from the arrow which a Syrian shot 
from his bow at a venture ; for it pierced him, and the blood ran 
out into his chariot; so he died. As they washed his chariot in 
Samaria, the dogs licked his blood, as was predicted. 

MiCAiAH, — A prophet of the Lord, whom Jehoshaphat sent for, 
when the prophets of Ahab advised them to go up together against 
Ramoth-Gilead. 

Micaiah prophesied that evil would befall Ahab, which so wounded 
his pride that he caused the prophet to be seized, imprisoned, and 
fed on the bread and water of affliction, until he returned in peace. 
But Ahab fell in battle, as the prophet had foretold. 

Ahaziah, — Son of Ahab, succeeded to the throne. He entered 
into a co-partnership with Jehoshaphat, in fitting out a fleet, in the 
Red Sea, to trade with Tarshish. The Lord was not pleased that 
Jehoshaphat should be thus associated with idolatry, even in com- 
merce; and the fleet was accordingly destroyed in a storm. 

Ahaziah had a fill, which injured him, and he sent a messenger 
to Ekron, to inquire of Baal if it would cause his death. The man 
met Elijah, who told him the king would die. On hearing "this, the 
king inquired how the man looked. The description answered to 
Elijah ; then the king was enraged, and sent an officer and band of 
men to seize him. Elijah, knowing their errand, as they drew near, 
fire came from heaven and consumed them. A second party came 
out, and shared the same fate. A third messenger came and fell 
before the prophet, begged him to spare his life, and come down 
and see the king. So he did, and told him he would die ; and so he 
did. Neither did this break up idolatry, though God showed so 
plainly, by fire from heaven, that Baal was no God. 

Jehoram, — Second son of Ahab, came to the throne next ; but 
of no particular note. 

Jehu. — This king was grandson of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, 
but was anointed by a young prophet, to reign over Israel. He was 
a furious driver of horses, and a terrible scourge upon idolaters. 

As he approached the city of Jezreel, Jehoram, the king, sent a 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 99 

messenger to know if he came in peace. He replied, What have 
you to do with peace ? go behind me. It was seen by the sentinel 
on the wall, that he reached Jehu, but returned not. Another was 
sent, and went behind also. Then Jehoram went himself, and he 
met Jehu on the ground of Naboth ; and, for his blood, Jehu shot 
him with an arrow. 

As Jehu came into the city, Jezebel, wife of Ahab, painted her 
face, and looked out of a window ; and as Jehu passed, she uttered 
a most taunting sarcasm, thus : " Had Zimri peace, who slew his 
master ? " — (An allusion to Zimri's usurping the throne, by assassi- 
nating Elah : and reigned only seven days. And Jehu had just killed 
Jehoram : the taunt was very severe.) At this, Jehu called upon 
some eunuchs near her, to pitch her out of the window, which they 
did ; and she fell down and died. 

Jehu went on, and after dinner proposed to go and bury her, as 
she was a king's daughter ; but, on coming to the place, they found 
nothing but her skull, and the palms of her hands, — the dogs having 
literally eaten her up. 

Thus this idolatrous Zidonian, Jezebel, ruined Ahab; caused a 
slaughter of the prophets ; executed her conspiracy against Naboth, 
which gave his blood to the dogs, then Ahab's, and then her own, 
in the very city of Naboth, viz., Jezreel. 

Jehu then wrote to those who had the care of Ahab's sons, to 
select the fittest among them, and make him king. This they were 
afraid to do, but declared themselves willing to perform any other 
service for him ; when he ordered the sons' heads brought to him; 
which was done, in baskets ; seventy in number. On his way to 
Samaria, Jehu met Ahaziah, and forty-two with him (a branch of 
Ahab's family) ; these he also slew ; the last of Ahab's house. 

On arriving at Samaria, Jehu proclaimed a general gathering of 
all the priests, and worshippers of Baal, as though himself would 
join in offering sacrifice to the idol. A great effort was made by 
the idolaters to get out to the meeting, partly through fear of Jehu, 
and partly through hope that he would favor their stupidity ; but 
his design was to get them together, and cut them off too. 

The summons was obeyed far more promptly than it would have 
been had Jehu called them together to worship Jehovah. Jehu 
ordered them to put all who did not fellowship Baal out of the tem- 
ple ; this the Baalites did, cheerfully, so as to purify the company. 
Jehu was particular, also, to have it done, so that none who were 
innocent of idolatry should perish with the besotted dupes. 

Jehu then charged those who were to do the execution, to let 
none of them escape ; if they did, life should go for life. The terrible 



100 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

slaughter went on, as was ordered ; the image of Baal was thrown 
down; and offal and filth took its place, in order to pour the utmost 
contempt upon the pollutions of idolatry. Thus Ahab, Jezebel and 
their family, the devotees of Baal, and his image and worship, were 
exterminated from Israel. 

This took place as the fulfilment of the curse the Lord pronounced 
upon Jeroboam's altar, by the prophet. Surely Jehu showed his 
zeal for the Lord, and the Lord placed his seal of displeasure upon 
idolatry. Jehu ruled Israel twenty-eight years, and was succeeded 
by his son. 

Jehoahaz, — Son and successor of Jehu. His bad rule left him 
a prey to Benhadad and Hazael of Syria, and by them was nearly 
robbed of his kingdom. 

Joash, or Jehoash — Grandson of Jehu, recovered from the 
Syrians the ground lost by Jehoahaz, his father. Amaziah, King of 
Judah, rather picked a quarrel with Joash; when he roused up 
finally, drove Amaziah, broke down a part of the wall of Jerusa- 
lem, pillaged the temple, and, with large spoil, returned in triumph 
to Samaria. He soon after died. 

Jeroboam II. — Great-grandson of Jehu, raised the kingdom of 
Israel to its last high pitch of prosperity ; recovering all the coun- 
try of the Israelites, east of the river. He, however, followed all 
the evil ways of idolatry, — the bane and ruin of the Ten Tribes, 
and of all who worship idols. 

Next came Zechariah, then Shallum ; both of little note. 

Mexahem — Was next, and his reign inglorious ; his realm being 
invaded by Pul (father of Sardanapalus), King of Assyria. Mena- 
hem bought peace with Pul, for one thousand talents of silver ; and 
raised the money by direct tax upon his people. 

Pekahiah, and Pekah, followed. The idolatry of Jeroboam, son of 
Nebat, remained — the curse of Israel. 

Hoshea — The last of the kings of Israel, or of the Ten Tribes, 
that revolted. Being weary of the tribute the nation had to pay 
the King of Assyria (imposed upon it by Menahem), Hoshea with- 
held it from him that year, and gave it to So, King of Egypt, to 
unite with him, and throw off the yoke of Assyria from Israel. 

Finding out the conspiracy, Shalmaneser seized Hoshea, and put 
him in prison, and then marched against Samaria, and besieged it ; 
but, by a brave resistance, he was not able to take it, short of three 
years. It was then taken, and the Ten Tribes carried into perpetual 
captivity by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria — two hundred and fifty 
years after they left their brethren, under Jeroboam, and at the 
same time turned to dumb idols, from serving the Lord. 



HISTORY OF EELIGION. 101 

The} r vainly supposed that they could escape from such a fate as 
Rehoboam threatened upon them, by revolt and idolatry; but they 
found it no better to be joined to idols, and let alone, than to remain 
in the way of duty, and be corrected. For the sin of idolatry they 
were slain. 

Nothing is known of the Ten Tribes after this, only that they 
mixed with other nations, and so were lost. 

Samaritans. — A class of people is often spoken of in the New 
Testament, by this name. 

Their origin was this : After the Ten Tribes were carried off by 
Shalmaneser, their country was peopled by emigrants from the east, 
who adopted the Jewish law, to some considerable extent, but did 
not worship with the Jews, and made Samaria their capital, — and 
hence are called Samaritans. This, their heathen origin, and the dif- 
ferent interpretations of the law from the Jews, made the animosity 
between them very bitter ; — " They had no dealings together." 
Hence how pertinent, in a Jewish ear, the story of the good 
Samaritan ! 

TRIBES OF JUDAH AND BENJAMIN. 

Rehoboam — Was the son and successor of Solomon ; and through 
him the line is continued from Abraham, until Shiloh came. 

Upon coming to the throne, Rehoboam met some of the preju- 
dices that had grown up, in the last of Solomon's days. At his cor- 
onation, the people assembled at Shechem, and before the ceremo- 
nies, he was interrogated as to his policy of governing. Jeroboam 
came up from Egypt, by the advice of his friends, and was made 
spokesman, to draw out the line of policy of the new king. 

Rehoboam asked three days to determine, and then he would 
report. In the meantime, he sought the advice of his father's old 
counsellors. They counselled him to rule in a firm but generous 
manner. Next he called the men of his own age and time. They 
advised him to rule like a king, and let the people know that the 
complaints they brought against his father were trifles ; that while 
he ruled with whips, you will use scorpions. 

Seeing no disposition in the new king to listen to their peti- 
tion, the Ten Tribes replied, " What portion have we in David ? " 
So they separated, with Jeroboam as their king, and as has been 
noticed. 

Rehoboam, to test the sincerity of the revolters, in their mad 
scheme, sent Adoram, the officer of the tribute — knowing if they 
refused to pay tribute, the die was cast. When Adoram's errand 
was made known, he was stoned to death. Rehoboam, hearing of 



102 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

this, hastened from Shechem to Jerusalem, and assembled his men 
of war, determined to force the Ten Tribes to submit. But the 
word of the Lord came by Shemaiah, expressly forbidding their 
going up against Israel, and so the expedition was abandoned. 

Upon this, Rehoboam turned his attention to building forts, and 
strengthening himself. Besides this, the priests and Levites in Israel, 
being put out of office by Jeroboam, — who abolished the worship 
of the Lord, — these all flocked to the standard of Rehoboam, and 
thus he was greatly strengthened also. Many others of the Ten 
Tribes, who were really pious, also came to Jerusalem; and, for three 
years, Rehoboam was strengthened, and the worship of God flour- 
ished. 

But, sad to relate, Rehoboam's prosperity did not keep him from 
forsaking the law of the Lord ; but, like Israel, fell into idolatry. For 
this relapse, the Lord sent Shishak, King of Egypt, to punish Jeru- 
salem, five years after the revolt. At his approach, Judah cried to 
the Lord ; he heard, and pitied, and delivered them from destruc- 
tion. But Shishak pillaged the temple, and the king's house ; he 
carried off much treasure : even the shields of gold Solomon made. 
He also put Judah under tribute. 

Rehoboam being thus humbled, things went well in Judah. Yet 
the king did not well, in that he prepared not his heart to seek the 
Lord. 

Shemaiah. ■ — Rehoboam having prepared himself for war with 
Jeroboam, to bring him into allegiance to himself, was forbidden by 
the Lord, through Shemaiah the prophet, from making war upon 
Israel. Rehoboam and his princes were also assured by Shemaiah 
of deliverance from utter destruction by Shishak, upon repentance, 
and turning to the Lord. 

Aeijam — Son of Rehoboam, reigned three years. He gave 
battle to Jeroboam, but first tried to persuade him to return to his 
allegiance to the house of David, restore the priests of the Lord he 
had ejected from office, and not forsake the Lord God. 

But Jeroboam would not listen, but made the assault upon Judah 
from ambush. Judah then cried to the Lord, who heard and deliv- 
ered them, because they plead his cause before Jeroboam, and cried 
to him for help. 

Abijam gained the victory — not, however, without a slaughter of 
five hundred thousand of Israel — and they never recovered from the 
blow, during Abijam's reign. 

Thus again the Lord vindicated himself, and taught those who 
feared him, that it shall be well with the righteous; but wo to the 
wicked, it shall be ill with him. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 103 

Asa — Was the third king of Judah, and grandson of Rehoboam. 
He prosecuted the work of reform with much vigor, — demolishing 
the idol his mother had erected, and cutting down the grove where it 
stood ; also deposing her from the throne. He then gave the most 
explicit orders to Judah to serve the Lord God, and him alone. He 
next strengthened the strong places, and so arose to a state of great 
prosperity; — a consequence of seeking the Lord first. 

No sooner had he strengthened his kingdom, than Zerah, an Ethio- 
pian, came against him, with a million of soldiers. Asa was able to 
meet him with five hundred thousand, and, calling earnestly upon 
the Lord for help against this host, was able to repel them, taking, 
also, much spoil. 

The Lord then sent Azariah the prophet to impress upon Asa the 
importance of earnestly following the Lord ; telling him if he 
sought the Lord, he would be found of him ; but if he forsook him, 
God would also forsake him. Asa then proclaimed a gathering of 
Judah and Benjamin at Jerusalem ; and they offered of the spoil to 
the Lord, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand sheep. And 
they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all the heart : 
and they vowed, with shouting, and blowing of trumpets. And the 
Lord gave them rest round about. The temple was also replenished 
of its utensils. 

All this prosperity stirred up the jealousy of Baasha, King of 
Israel ; and, to prevent his people from going up to Jerusalem, he 
commenced a fort at Ramah, — a narrow place in the mountain, on 
the main road, — so as to keep them back. At this, Asa sent pres- 
ents to the King of Syria, at Damascus, and solicited him to attack 
Baasha in the rear 2 to draw him back to take care of the interior of 
his kingdom. 

While Baasha was thus engaged, Asa demolished the fort at 
Ramah, and took the timber and stones and built Geba and Mizpah, 
of Benjamin. 

For this resort to the King of Syria, to keep Baasha from spread- 
ing idolatry (instead of calling upon the Lord), Asa was reproved 
by the prophet. Being offended at this, he cast the prophet into 
prison, and was afterwards a little inclined to oppression. He was 
taken with a disease in his feet, very severe, in the thirty-ninth year 
of his reign. But he sought unto the physicians, instead of the 
Lord, and died more honored of men than of God. 

Azariah, — A prophet of the Lord, sent by him to Asa the king, 
to impress upon his mind the important truth, that if he forsook the 
law and service of Jehovah, he would also be forsaken of him. 

Asa received the message with gladness, and set about removing 



104 HISTORY OF RELIGIOX. 

the idolatrous corruptions of the times ; gathered the people to- 
gether ; offered ample sacrifices, and caused the people to vow- 
allegiance and constancy to the Lord. 

Jehoshaphat — Was son and successor of Asa on the throne of 
Judah. His first acts were to garrison his forts, and make the king- 
dom strong. He then removed the groves, and high places of 
idolatry. Jehoshaphat had honor, riches, and peace, and lifted up 
his heart to serve the Lord. 

He did a very important work, in calling out all the learned and 
pious men of the realm, and sending them through the land to teach 
the law of the Lord. By thus supplying the civil and ecclesiastical 
offices with the best men of the nation, he raised the kingdom to a 
great pitch of prosperity, so that the fear of the Lord fell upon the 
nations round about, and they made no war upon Jehoshaphat. 

In a friendly visit to Ahab, King of Israel, the latter proposed to 
Jehoshaphat to unite with him in taking Ramoth-Gilead from the 
King of Syria. Ahab's prophets said go ; but Jehoshaphat wanted 
to consult a prophet of the Lord. In doing so he was told not to 
go, and yet ventured to follow Ahab. He came very near losing 
his life in the battle ; and, besides, Jehu reproved him stoutly for his 
presumption. 

After this, Jehoshaphat renewed his charge to the judges and 
Levites throughout the land, to be faithful in teaching and obeying 
the law of the Lord with perfect hearts. 

Amariah was chief-priest, and Zebadiah secretary of state, or 
agent for all the king's matters in Judah. 

A confederacy being formed between the Ammonites, Moabites, 
and others against Judah, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast to the 
Lord, and all the people came together, when the king made a most 
imploring prayer to the Lord to save them from their enemies. An 
answer was obtained that they should be delivered, and that with- 
out fighting. So they went out to meet the enemy w T ith singing and 
trumpets, which put them to flight in great panic and confusion. 
The people of Judah were three days gathering up the spoil the 
enemy left in their haste. 

So the realm was quiet, for God gave it rest. On the whole, 
Jehoshaphat proved a very godly and wise king, by adhering to the 
law of the Lord. 

Jahaziel — The prophet who encouraged Jehoshaphat when he 
gathered the people together to ask help of the Lord against the 
invasion of the Ammonites. The Lord saw the humble dependence 
of Jehoshaphat upon his aid, and so sent the prophet Jahaziel to 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 105 

inform him that he should have the victory even without fighting. 
And it was even so. 

Jehoram — Son and successor of Jehoshaphat. His first public 
act was to put his brethren and many princes of Israel to death. 

He copied after Ahab, and well might, for he took Ahab's daugh- 
ter, a half Jezebel, to wife. 

For his violence he lost his sway over the Edomites, who revolted 
from him, and also some of his own people. His kingdom was also 
overrun by the Philistines and Arabians, whom the Lord stirred up 
to punish him. They plundered his palace and took all the royal 
family prisoners, except the youngest son. Jehoram died, as the 
prophet told him he would, with a fearful disease of the bowels, 
which cut him off in God's displeasure, unlamented and unhon- 
ored. 

It is supposed by some that this disease was the same as that of 
Antiochus Epiphanes and Herod Agrippa, who were signally cut off. 

Elijah. — Few have ever enjoyed such marked favor of the Lord, 
as did this eminent prophet. He was first sent by the Lord to fore- 
tell Ahab of a three years' drought. He was then told to retire to 
the wilderness, by a brook, where he stayed until it dried up. Dur- 
ing his stay there he was fed by ravens. After the brook dried up, 
he was sent to Zarephath ; and as he drew near the gate, he saw 
a widow woman, and asked her for a drink of water and a morsel 
of bread. 

She replied, that she had but a little meal, and a little oil, and was 
gathering sticks to cook it for herself and son, to eat their last and 
die. But Elijah insisted upon being served first, assuring her that 
he had come to board with her until the Lord should send rain ; 
and that the cruise of oil and the meal should not fail, and it 
did not. 

During Elijah's stay the widow's son died, whom he raised to life 
again — ample pay for his board. 

Elijah was then told to go and show himself to Ahab. As he was 
going, he met Obadiah (who hid and fed one hundred prophets in 
caves, at the time Jezebel, Ahab's wife, made a slaughter among the 
prophets), and told him to inform Ahab that he wished to see him. 
His object was to show him the folly of idolatry. In the interview, 
Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to offer a burnt-offering, and 
see whose God would answer by fire and burn it. The Baalites tried 
first, and called, and called in vain ; when Elijah prayed to the Lord 
God, who sent fire and burnt his offering. Elijah then caused the 
idol-priests to be slain. This took place in Mount Carmel ; and 

14 



106 HISTORY OF RELIGION". 

before they left, signs of rain were seen, — the three years' drought 
was over. 

Ahab, returning, told Jezebel what Elijah had done, when she 
vowed his death. Elijah fled into the wilderness, into Mount 
Horeb; and it was at this time he complained to the Lord "that the 
prophets had been slain, and he was alone, and his life was sought." 

While there in the mount (Horeb), the Lord appeared to him, 
and sent him by the way of Damascus, to anoint Hazael to be King 
of Syria, and Jehu to be King of Israel ; and also Elisha to be 
prophet after himself. The Lord also assured him of seven thousand 
men in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. 

As he went he found Elisha j)loughing with twelve yoke of oxen, 
and called him to follow him, which he did. 

He next appeared to Ahab, in the field of Naboth, and declared 
to him the extinction of his family for his wickedness, and that dogs 
should lick his blood, as they had Naboth's, whom Jezebel caused 
to be slain. 

Ahaziah, son of Ahab, falling from the top of a house, sent a mes- 
senger to Ekron to consult Baal whether he would recover. But on 
his way he met Elijah, who told him the king would die. The king 
was vexed because Elijah had said this, and sent out a posse of 
men to seize him as a prisoner. The prophet seeing them coming, 
and knowing their intention, called fire from heaven and destroyed 
them. A second detachment fared likewise ; when a third came, and 
asked him to come down and see the king, which he did. And the 
king died. 

Elijah's time to leave had come, so he and Elisha went to Bethel 
and Jericho, and took the students from the "schools of the prophets" 
there, and went away towards Jordan. As the sons of the prophets 
stood off* a little, the prophets went down to the river (probably 
where Joshua went over), and Elijah took his mantle and smote 
the waters, when Jordan parted, and they went over. While over 
there, Elijah says to Elisha, What shall I do for thee before I be 
taken from thee? He replied, Give me a double portion of thy 
spirit (much like the choice of Solomon). While they were walk- 
ing and talking, a chariot and horses of fire appeared, and took 
Elijah to heaven, and he was seen no more. Thus he passed away, 
on the other side of Jordan, as Moses did — and as Enoch did, with- 
out death. 

Elisha. — At the sight of Elijah's ascension, Elisha exclaimed : 
"My father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" 
Elisha then took the mantle, as it fell from the prophet, and, return- 
ing, smote the river, when it parted again, and Elisha went over. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 107 

At this the sons of the prophets exclaimed, The spirit of Elijah 
doth rest upon Elisha! 

As Elisha came on his way back toward Bethel, there came out rude 
boys, saying, " Go up, thou bald-head ! " — probably said in allusion 
to Elijah's ascent ; as if they had said, Come, old bald-head, let us 
see you go up ! Similar to " Let him come down from the cross, 
and we will believe; — he saved others, himself he cannot save," 
etc., spoken of Christ tauntingly. 

For this insult to Elisha, two bears came out of the woods and 
tore forty-two of them in pieces. 

After this, being in company with Jehoshaphat and his army, 
Elisha supplied them with water, when they must have perished 
without it. 

A widow of one of the prophets came to Elisha one day, stating, 
as a grievance, that her husband, a godly man, had died in debt, 
and the creditor had come to take her two sons for bondmen. So the 
prophet asked what she had in her house. She replied, " Only a pot 
of oil." He then told her to go and borrow empty vessels not a 
few, and take her pot of oil and pour out of it until one was filled, 
and set it away, and so on. This she did, and filled a large number, 
until the oil stayed. 

Then the prophet directed her to sell enough to pay the debt, 
and she and her sons to live on the rest. 

As Elisha came to Shunem one day, a wealthy lady invited him 
to her home, when she and her husband perceiving him to be a 
godly man, entertained him in a very cordial manner. 

He, seeing their kindness, and that they were rich and pious, yet' 
childless, rewarded them by the promise of an heir, which took 
place in due time, to their great joy. But the child sickened and 
died. The woman started at once for Carmel to see the prophet, 
who, as soon as he saw her, inquired if all was well with her, her 
husband, and the child. 

But her errand was soon made known, and she persuaded Elisha 
to go to her house and restore the child to life again, which he did. 

He next directed Naaman the Syrian to go and wash seven times 
in Jordan, as a means of cure for his leprosy. He hesitated for a 
time, when he finally went, and was cured. This so impressed 
Naaman that there was a God in Israel, that he even professed to 
renounce idolatry and choose the service of Jehovah. 

Elisha wrought several other miracles, such as causing an axe lost 
in the river to rise to the top and swim, smiting the Syrian army 
with blindness, etc. 

But his last sickness came, and Elisha died ; and so he passed away, 



108 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

like all the good before him ; having executed the prophetic office 
over sixty years, with great fidelity and success. The next year the 
Moabites invaded the country. And as a company were about to 
bury a man, they looked up and saw a party of the enemy coming, 
and not having time to finish the burial, hastily thrust the body 
into the tomb of Elisha; as the body touched the prophet's bones, 
it came to life and stood up. 

Surely, from the history of these two eminent men, every reflect- 
ing mind must be persuaded that there is a God in heaven, and that 
Elijah and Elisha (not Mohammed) were his prophets. 

Also, that all who work righteousness are accepted of God, and 
the wicked are reserved to be punished. 

Ahaziah — Son of Jehoram, and King of Judah, was slain by 
Jehu, at the same time with Joram of Israel. 

Jonah. — This prophet is supposed to have lived and prophesied 
between 862 and 790 B. C. His adventure at sea is related in the 
book by his name in the Old Testament, and is a most pertinent 
rebuke on attempts at evading the plain duties of religion. 

The King of Nineveh, at the time of Jonah's visit to that wicked 
city, is said to have been Pul, father of the notorious Sardanapalus. 

The fictitious adventure of Hercules, in Grecian tales, being three 
days in the belly of a shark, cutting and hacking his entrails, and 
coming out with the loss of nothing but his hair, is founded on the 
story of Jonah. 

Joash. — Between the death of Ahaziah and the coronation of 
Joash, Athaliah, wife of Ahaziah, daughter of Ahab (hence half 
Jezebel), took the reins of government. 

The death of her husband by the hand of Jehu stirred up the 
Jezebel-Ahab in her, and she sought vengeance by seeking to put 
all her husband's children by former wives, to death, and usurping 
the throne of Judah. 

Whilst she supposed she had done this, a sister of her husband 
had taken Joash, the youngest of his sons and his nurse and hidden 
them in the temple, until he was seven years old. The sympathies 
of the people being in his favor, and being disgusted with the usurpa- 
tion of Athaliah, a plan was readily seconded to crown Joash king. 

His coronation took place in the court of the temple, with great 
pomp and solemnity. But when the wicked Athaliah saw it, she 
screamed, " Treason ! treason ! " She did not allude to her own 
treason, but hoped to arouse the popular fury in her behalf; but, 
to her astonishment, the popular will retorted the charge of treason, 
and Jehoiada the high-priest ordered her to be slain with the sword. 

Jehoiada then put the king and people under oath, to serve the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 109 

Lord God faithfully ; whereupon the altars of Baal and his worship 
were destroyed. Joash, or Jehoash, orders the temple repaired, 
when Jehoiada takes a chest and bores a hole in the top, puts it by 
the door'of the temple to receive the money given for the purpose. 
This repair of the temple took place about 3148 A. M., or 856 B. C- 
Not only the building, but the utensils of the temple were replen- 
ished, so that the state of religion was good at the death of Jehoi- 
ada, which took place twelve years after — he being of the great age 
of one hundred and thirty years. 

But when Jehoiada died, Joash lost his best friend. For then his 
courtiers began to fawn and natter him, and he took it, and was 
turned to idols; for which Zechariah the priest, son of Jehoiada, 
reproved him, and warned him of the consequences of forsaking the 
Lord. Joash flying into a rage, the priest was slain, " between the 
porch and the altar." Thus fell the son of the man who had saved 
the king's life, raised him to the throne, and directed him ; and now 
he requites it all by turning to idolatry, and slaying the priest in the 
temple. While dying, he predicted God's judgment for this. 

This was soon fulfilled, by an invasion from the Syrians, with 
whom Joash bought peace, by giving up the treasures of the temple 
and the king's palace : and conspirators slew him in his bed. 

How strikingly the prediction of the Lord, by Samuel, when the 
people clamored for a king, is fulfilled, in the excesses and oppres- 
sions of both the kings of Israel and Judah ! (See 1 Samuel, 
8 : 6—22.) 

Zechariah. — He was a prophet in the days of Joash, King of 
Judah. He was son of Jehoiada, who secured his life and throne to 
Joash. But, notwithstanding that great service done the king by 
Zechariah's father, and his being sent by the Lord to reprove the 
people for their sins, Joash flew into a rage at the prophet, and 
caused him to be stoned to death, between the porch and the altar. 

Amaziah — Son of Joash, and eighth King of Judah. He did 
that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a per- 
fect heart. He put the conspirators to death who slew his father, 
but spared their children, on the strength of the law, "that the 
children are not to bear the sins of the fathers." 

He early formed the purpose to re-conquer the Edomites, who had 
revolted during the reign of Jehoram. To do this, he raised three 
hundred thousand of his own men, and hired one hundred thou- 
sand of Israel ; but he was directed of God to dismiss the latter, or 
he would fall before the enemy. This he did reluctantly, and they, 
taking offence at the dismission, ravaged the cities of Judah as they 
returned, taking also much spoil. 



110 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Amaziah then prosecuted the war with Edom, slaying ten thou- 
sand, and taking ten thousand prisoners. Elated with his success, 
he took their idols, and set them up and worshipped them. For 
this, the Lord sent a prophet to reprove him for turning away from 
Jehovah, who had given him the victory. He ordered the prophet 
be silent; but he closed his speech by telling the king God would 
surely destroy him for his wilfulness. 

He then turns, and gives Joash, King of Israel, a challenge to 
meet him face to face in war. Joash declined, thinking it unwise 
to meet in war ; but Amaziah forced him to make defence. Being 
driven to it, Joash made a vigorous resistance, drove the King of 
Judah back, broke down a part of the wall of Jerusalem, plundered 
the temple and the palace, and returned. 

Amaziah sought this quarrel with Joash, to get revenge for the 
depredations committed .by the one hundred thousand on their 
return. But having resisted the warning of the Lord to him, and 
going on the strength of his own wilful ambition, he fell. 

Fifteen years after, he was obliged to flee from a conspiracy in 
Jerusalem, but was pursued and slain in Lachish. 

Uzziah, or Azaeiah. — He was made king upon the death of 
his father, at the age of sixteen. He began his career in the ways 
of wisdom, being guided by Zechariah, who had understanding in 
the visions of God. He was successful against his enemies ; im- 
proved and strengthened Jerusalem ; built towers, vineyards, wells, 
and was great in husbandry. He very greatly improved the condi- 
tion of his army, furnishing all the implements and engines of war. 
His fame was very great with the kings about him. 

But his prosperity was his adversity. He became so popular that 
he entertained the foolish notion monarchs often do, that he had a 
divine right to usurp any office he pleased. So he went into the 
temple, and laid hold of the priests' censer, and proceeded to offer 
incense, when they warned him of his improper conduct; for it 
pertained to the priests alone to offer incense to the Lord. 

At this rebuke, the king was displeased, and persisted in executing 
the priests' office ; when the leprosy arose in his forehead, and he 
remained a leper until the day of his death. 

Amos — Prophesied in the time of Uzziah, between 759 and 734. 
He was employed in rural pursuits, and called specially to prophesy 
against Israel, by rebuking their sins, and foretelling the judgments 
of the Lord that awaited them ; yet he exhorted them to repentance 
and reform, and so peace and mercy would come unto them. 

But Amaziah, a priest of Baal, made complaint to the king, Jero- 
boam II., that a prophet of Judah had come to speak against Israel, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. Ill 

and that the land could not bear his words ; saying that the sword 
shall cut off the king, and Israel shall go away, and die captives in a 
strange land. 

So the prophet was obliged to leave the country, and retire to 
Tekoa, ten miles south of Jerusalem. 

The time and manner of his death are unknown. 

Thus the Lord sought to save Israel by his prophets ; but they 
would not : hence their rejection. 

Hosea — Also prophesied about the same time, and lived in 
Samaria. He reproved Israel, and tried to lead them in the right 
way ; but in vain. He also spoke strongly of the coming Messiah, 
and the glory of his kingdom. 

Jotham — Son of Uzziah, followed the good, and shunned the 
bad example of his father. He built largely, and strengthened his 
kingdom, and put the Edomites under tribute. So Jotham became 
mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord. 

Happy would it be for the world, were all kings guided by the 
fear of the Lord. The prosperity of the Jews, and their adversity, 
all grew out of their fear or scorn of the Almighty. Further; the 
true fear of God is not confined to any people in particular ; for we 
see the kings of Judah and Israel often changing, alternately from 
Jehovah to Baal. 

Ahaz — Son of Jotham, took the opposite course from his father, 
on coming to the throne of Judah ; he even offered his own children 
in sacrifice to Baal. 

The kings of Syria and Israel formed an alliance, and came up 
against Ahaz ; when the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to assure the 
king that, for David's sake, Judah should be spared. During this 
visit he uttered the memorable prophecy of the coming of Imman- 
uel, — the Shiloh of Moses' time, the Messiah, the Lord our Right- 
eousness. 

Still, the kings of Syria and Israel carried off two hundred thou- 
sand women and children, after slaying one hundred and twenty 
thousand men of Judah. On coming to Samaria with this host, 
Oded, a prophet of the Lord, besought the conqueror of Israel not 
to retain in bondage his own kindred, and prevailed upon him to 
liberate them ; and putting them in a condition to journey, with 
beasts and provisions, they returned. 

The magnanimity of this act is without a parallel in all the history 
of the hateful lust of power and conquest. 

The Edomites and Philistines uniting against Ahaz, he sent to 
Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria, to help him. This he did ; but 
his services, and the large draft on the treasures of the temple and 



112 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

the palace, and the tax on the princes, left Ahaz so that Pileser's 
aid was no advantage to him. 

Besides that, when Ahaz went to Damascus, to acknowledge the 
favors of the King of Assyria, he saw an idol altar, and taking a 
fancy to it, sent a draft to Urijah, at Jerusalem, and ordered one 
made like it, and put in the place of the one there. While at 
Damascus, he also sacrificed to idols. 

After his return to Jerusalem, he mutilated many of the vessels 
of the temple, took down the laver from the oxen, and despoiled 
much of the beauty of the holy furniture. In Jerusalem, and in 
the cities of Judah, he erected idol altars, and provoked the Lord 
God. He died, and was buried unhonored. 

Joel. — This prophet lived about the time of Ahaz, and was 
contemporary with Isaiah. 

The burden of his prophecy was the fearful temporal judgments 
that were speedily coming upon the nation, and in view of Which 
he exhorted them to repentance, and to seek the mercy and favor 
of the Lord, while he was yet on the forgiving hand. 

He also uttered a prophecy, which had its fulfilment on the day 
of Pentecost. 

Micah — Prophesied in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, 
and respecting each of them. 

The most important feature of his prophecy is his view of the 
Messiah, — his birthplace, characteristics, and blessings of his reign 
on earth. 

Nahum — Prophesied in Hezekiah's time, and foretold the over- 
throw of Nineveh, and so remarkable has been the fulfilment thereof, 
that even the site of Nineveh has been a matter of dispute for about 
sixteen centuries. 

Hezekiah — The son and successor of Ahaz, led the very oppo- 
site course his father pursued. He opened the doors of the temple 
Ahaz had shut up, caused the temple to be purified, and gave the 
strictest orders to the priests and Levites to sanctify themselves, and 
to resume the neglected and desecrated service of the Lord's house. 
These orders being strictly carried out, religion was put at once in 
a flourishing condition, and the nation as soon made prosperous and 
peaceful. 

He also proclaimed throughout the whole realm a gathering of 
the people at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover. This met with a 
hearty response from the tribes, for they gathered in great numbers, 
and kept the feast of the Passover fourteen days, instead of seven, 
such was the joy of the people at the revival of the worship of 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 113 

Jehovah. Thus Hezekiah had restored the breach made by Ahaz, 
in leading the nation into gross idolatry. 

In the fourth year of Hezekiah, Shalmaneser took Samaria, and 
carried the Ten Tribes into irrecoverable captivity, and they were 
swallowed up as a people. 

Ahaz having left the kingdom of Judah under tribute to Assyria, 
Hezekiah was induced to pay it over when Israel was taken away, 
hoping to turn back the avarice of the King of Assyria ; but this 
only created a thirst for more, and he sent three of his principal 
men, and an army, to induce the people to revolt from Hezekiah, 
and join the Assyrians. 

Instead of listening to these proposals, the people declared their 
allegiance to Hezekiah. But not being satisfied with this simply, 
Hezekiah inquired of Isaiah, the prophet of the Lord, and he assured 
him that Sennacherib should not hurt him, and should fall by the 
sword in his own land. 

Returning from an expedition against Egypt, Sennacherib wrote 
a letter to Hezekiah, in which he blasphemously compared the Lord 
with the gods of the heathen, and tauntingly boasted that no one 
could stand before his victorious march. At this Hezekiah became 
alarmed, not knowing but the Lord was really using Sennacherib as 
a scourge of wickedness ; so he took the letter, and read it, and 
went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before him, and 
prayed earnestly for the interposition of Heaven in his behalf. 

He acknowledged the successes of the King of Assyria — that he 
had destroyed the gods of the nations, but that they were no gods at 
all. He then cried to the Lord, who could deliver him, if he would 
but stretch forth his hand in favor of Judah. 

Then Isaiah the prophet sent to Hezekiah, saying, " Thy prayer 
is heard ; the Lord will put a hook in the nose of Sennacherib, and 
a bridle in his mouth, and turn him back by the way he came, so that 
he shall not come nigh this city ; for I will defend it for my own 
and my servant David's sake, saith the Lord." 

All this was fulfilled ; for the Lord smote of Sennacherib's army, 
in one night, one hundred and eighty-five thousand, so that they 
died ; and he himself returned to his own land, and while in the 
stupid act of worshipping his idol, two of his sons entered and 
slew him with the sword. Thus fell the blasphemer of the God of 
heaven. 

After this, Hezekiah was taken sick, and Isaiah told him to set 
his house in order, for he should die, and not live. But the king 
prayed earnestly that his life might be spared yet longer. 

15 



Hi HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

In answer to this prayer, Isaiah told him the Lord would add to 
his days fifteen years. 

Berodach-baladan, King of Babylon, hearing of Hezekiah's sick- 
ness and recovery, sent him a present and letter (not of blasphemy 
against Jehovah, like Sennacherib) but of congratulation. Hezekiah 
received the flattery, and showed the messengers all his wealth and 
treasure. For this unnecessary disclosure and acceptance of Baby- 
lonish court flattery, Isaiah told Hezekiah that all this wealth, of 
which he had gloried before men, should be carried away captive 
into the very palace from which this fawning proceeded, and with 
which he had been foolishly pleased. 

This produced in Hezekiah deep penitence before the Lord, be- 
cause he had done foolishly. The latter part of his life was passed 
in tranquillity, and he was gathered unto his fathers full of honors. 

Hezekiah was the best king from Solomon's time to his, and all 
for keeping close to the Lord, and relying upon him for wisdom and 
strength — the true and unfailing source of prosperity. 

Isaiah — The prophet, lived and prophesied during the reign of 
the four last-mentioned kings. The city of Rome was founded in his. 
time, 753 B. C. He is said to have been one of the faithful who 
were sawn in sunder. Wicked as some of the kings were, and idol- 
atrous as many of the people were, yet there were true prophets, 
and many wise and good men, — some not known to the prophets, 
as with Elijah, who kept the faith in its purity. 

The Book of Isaiah contains, in the first thirty-nine chapters, an 
account of matters during the prophet's active life ; and the rest of 
the book treats of the finishing up of the Babylonish captivity, and 
the coming, progress, triumph, and glory of the kingdom of the 
Messiah. He is also styled the Evangelical Prophet, from the 
resemblance of his writings to the gospels of the !STew Testament. 

Manasseh — Son and successor of Hezekiah on the throne of 
Judah, — was only twelve years old when he became king ; but 
his heart was not established in the right way. 

He built altars to Baal, revived the worship of images, and is 
said even to have placed an image of himself in the temple ; and 
was guided by the familiar spirits, wizards, and enchantments of 
idolatry. 

For such impiety the Lord stretched forth his hand against him, 
and the King of Babylon carried him off in chains, a captive. This 
opened his eyes, and brought him to repentance ; and by supplica- 
tion to God, he was set at liberty, and permitted to return to Jeru- 
salem. 

Upon his return, Manasseh went about reforming the bad manners 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 115 

of the people, growing out of his former bad example. He built a 
piece of new wall for the defence of Jerusalem; removed the idol 
from the temple ; broke down the idol altars he had erected, and 
earnestly, by example and precept, strove to lead Judah back to 
serve the Lord God. 

In this labor he succeeded greatly, yet did no more than turn the 
tide of his own misdoings, and hardly restored the kingdom to the 
condition in which his father left it. Still, his last days were his 
best days. 

Amon — The fourteenth king of Judah, did all the evil of Man- 
asseh his father, but not the good. After a short reign of two years, 
he was assassinated by his own servants. 

Josiah. — Of no king of Judah have we so good an account 
throughout, as of this. He began his reign at eight years of age. 
" He began well, continued well, and ended well." The upright- 
ness of his early life must be attributed, in a great measure, to the 
influence of his mother, Jedidah, and also of Hilkiah the high-priest, 
and this extended to his riper years. 

He soon manifested an abhorrence of the idolatry of the nation and 
of his predecessors. In the eighteenth year of his reign, he went 
about a thorough repair of the temple, as did also Joash. During 
the repairs, Hilkiah the priest found a copy of the law, by Moses, 
which gave great joy to the king and all the people. When it was 
read before Josiah he rent his clothes, and deplored the departure 
of the nation from its sacred teachings. It is supposed that Ahaz 
and Manasseh did much to suppress the law and render it scarce, 
as wicked rulers often do. (Intelligence is dangerous for tyrants.) 
Josiah assembled the people at the temple, and had the law read in 
the presence of them all, and vowed himself and the people also 
to keep the covenant of the Lord. 

Josiah next turned his attention to destroying the idols and altars 
of Baal, throughout the nation. He first ordered the vessels brought 
out of the temple and burnt, that were put in there for the service 
of Baal. He emptied the offices of the idolatrous priests forthwith, 
of their contents and incumbents ; he destroyed the houses of ill- 
fame devoted to idols, and spared no severity upon the altars and 
idols throughout the land. Even the bones of the idolatrous priests 
he took out of their sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar 
erected in Bethel by Jeroboam, as the man of God prophesied. 

Josiah next proclaimed the Passover, to be kept by all the people. 
He first ordered the priests to attend to the part assigned them by 
the law of Moses. He did not dictate what they should do to please 
him, but commanded them to obey the law and the testimony. The 



11G HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

sacrifices of the occasion consisted of thousands of oxen ; the sing- 
ing, and all the parts of the service, were attended to with great 
exactness and solemnity; so that from the days of Samuel the 
prophet there was no Passover kept like that by Josiah ; and by the 
])riests and Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

An unfortunate affair turned up, by which King Josiah lost his life 
prematurely. Pharaoh-Necho, King of Egypt, made war upon the 
Medes and Babylonians ; and, in his march, passed through the terri- 
tory of the King of Judah. The King of Media and Josiah were 
allies, and if Josiah had wished to remain neutral he could not, by 
allowing one of the hostile powers to pass through his territory 
quietly, thereby forfeiting both alliance and neutrality, and so was 
forced to oppose Necho. 

The battle took place at Megiddo, when Josiah was wounded by 
the archers, so that he died, and was carried to Jerusalem and buried 
in the sepulchre of his fathers. No king's death was ever so deeply 
lamented by the Jews as Josiah's, — showing that, as a nation, they 
might have been led in better ways than they often were by their 
wicked kings. 

Zephaxiah. — A prophet in King Josiah's time, and a little before 
Jeremiah. His prophecy was designed mainly to excite the Jewish 
nation to repentance, in view of the judgments that were gathering 
about them, and encourage the faithful with the assurance of the 
final triumph of righteousness. 

Jeremiah, — The prophet, lived and prophesied between 628 and 
586 B. C. — about seventy years after Isaiah. He was son of Hil- 
kiah, who found the book of the law while the temple was being 
repaired by Josiah, and was himself a priest. He was in public life 
about forty-two years. 

His faithfulness brought upon him much ill-will and abuse from 
his wicked countrymen. 

But no ill-treatment deterred him from his duty, though calum- 
niated and imprisoned. He exhorted the king and people to sub- 
mit to Nebuchadnezzar, and become tributary to him, rather than 
venture on resisting him, as that would only end in the defeat and 
overthrow of the whole nation. 

But swarms of false prophets filled Jerusalem at this time, who 
contradicted the prophet, and thus led the people in the way they 
wanted to go, and hence their ruin. After a portion were carried 
away captive, the false prophets predicted their speedy return ; but 
Jeremiah wrote them that their captivity would be long, even sev- 



HISTORY OF PwELIGIOX. 117 

enty years, and that they had better submit, enter into some busi- 
ness, and pray for their conqueror. 

Still he encouraged them to hope, for a day of deliverance would 
come at last. 

When it was found that Jeremiah had written his prophecy on a 
roll, Jehoiakim caused it to be read before him, and being of- 
fended therewith, cut in pieces with a penknife, and caused it to be 
burnt. 

Then Jeremiah delivered it again, and Baruch, his scribe, wrote it 
again, and many more like words. 

So, neither imprisonment, unbelief, nor bribes, could deter the 
faithful prophet from declaring the sins of the people, and the ruin 
of the nation. 

Such was his devotion, that he even refused the offer of ease and 
plenty, made to him by the King of Babylon. But his choice to 
remain with his countrymen did not secure him from their abuse ; 
for, after the murder of Gedaliah (whom Nebuchadnezzar made gov- 
ernor of Judea), the conspirators were in fear of the Chaldeans, and 
thought to take refuge in Egypt. Jeremiah was consulted to know 
whether that were best, when he told them by no means would it 
be best to go. 

But they gave no heed to his words, and not only went themselves, 
but took Jeremiah with them, by force. In Egypt it is supposed he 
died, and some think a martyr to his faithfulness. 

His prophecy relates chiefly to the judgments of God upon the 
Jewish and other nations, and to the future glory that should arise 
on the Church of God, and on such as were steadfast in his service ; 
when the " Desire of Nations," or the Messiah, should come, and all 
flesh should see the salvation of God. 

Habakkuk — One of the prophets. He lived in the reign of 
Jehoiakim, and was contemporary with Jeremiah. He is supposed 
to have remained and died in Judea. 

His prophecy relates chiefly to the invasion of Judea by the Chal- 
deans, the overthrow of the Babylonian empire, and the final deliv- 
erance of God's faithful people. So that the judgments of Judah 
came not upon them unawares, but in the midst of the most, faith- 
ful admonitions, and upon a nation persisting in the way to ruin. 

Jehoahaz — Son and successor of Josiah. Upon the death of 
Josiah, the people proclaimed him king — being the youngest son, 
which was irregular. This being done without the knowledge of 
the King of Egypt (who had gone against the Chaldeans), when he 
returned, contrived to get Jehoahaz into his power by stratagem, at 



118 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Riblah, and sent him to Egypt in chains, where he died. Necho 
then filled the throne with his brother. 

Jefioiakem: — Being subdued by the King of Egypt, and placed 
upon the throne by his clemency and power, he could do no bet- 
ter than yield to his demand of tribute. So he put the country 
under tax, to satisfy the forced claim of Necho. This measure was 
adopted by the King of Egypt, out of revenge for the opposition of 
Josiah to his marching through his possessions, against the King of 
Assyria. 

Thus Necho, by taking the life of Josiah, putting one of his sons 
on the throne, and changing his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim, 
and laying the whole nation under tribute, made a distinct mark for 
himself, and had complete revenge. 

Nebuchadnezzar, not being pleased that Necho should rob him of 
the alliance of Josiah and the nation, came against Jehoiakim and 
took away the tribute to the King of Egypt, and put the nation 
under tribute to himself. Jehoiakim was carried in chains to Baby- 
lon, but was liberated, and permitted to return to Jerusalem and 
reign as a tributary prince. 

His reign of eleven years was a wicked one, and hastened the ap- 
proaching calamities. Among the captives taken when Jehoiakim 
was, were Daniel and the three worthies of the fiery furnace. 

Jehoiachln" — Son and successor of Jehoiakim. In the eighth 
year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar came up again and besieged 
Jerusalem, took the king and his family, the jDrincipal part of the 
nation, with the royal treasures and the temple furniture, and trans- 
ported them to the proud city of Babylon. Among these captives 
was the prophet Ezekiel. Jehoiachin was notorious for his wicked- 
ness, — precisely the characters whom God devotes to destruction. 

Zedekiah. — This is the last King of Judah — her cup is full. 
The land could now enjoy her Sabbaths, when the j>rofaners are 
carried off. 

The King of Babylon put Zedekiah upon the throne of Judah, as 
a tributary. He was a son of Josiah, named Mattaniah, but changed 
by King Nebuchadnezzar to Zedekiah. He was the personification 
of sin and wickedness, — hence the severe reproofs uttered against 
him by Jeremiah. 

In the ninth year of his reign he revolted against Nebuchadnez- 
zar, when he marched against Judea, took the strong cities first ; and 
at last Jerusalem, by a famine brought on by supplies being cut off 
by the besiegers, was forced to surrender. 

The King of Egypt, hearing of the peril of the King of Jerusa- 
lem, marched an army to aid him ; whereupon, the Chaldeans 



HISTORY OF RELIGION - . 119 

raised the siege, and turned upon the Egyptians. In this interval, 
Zedekiah with his military undertook to escape, and so fled to the 
plains of Jericho, where he was overtaken, and obliged to surrender 
to the Chaldeans. He was then brought before the King of Baby- 
lon, who, after reproaching him for his perfidy (in revolting), slew 
his sons before his eyes, and then put out his eyes. He was then 
loaded with chains, and carried to Babylon, where he died. 

In this transaction, two prophecies respecting Zedekiah, so ap- 
parently contradictory that Joseph us refused to believe either of 
them, were fulfilled. One was by Jeremiah, who predicted that he 
should not escape from the King of Babylon, but that they should 
look each other in the eyes. The other, by Ezekiel, that he should 
be carried to Babylon and die there, but not see it. The above 
occurrence completely fulfils them both. 

Soon after Nebuchadnezzar had carried off* the inhabitants, he 
sent his general Nebuzar-adan, with the army, to plunder, demol- 
ish, and burn Jerusalem, and bring away the treasure, and all the 
furniture and works of brass provided by Solomon, and carry them 
away to Babylon. 

Thus Jerusalem was destroyed, and Juclah carried away captive, 
in 3416 A. M., 588 B. C, on the 27th August. It occurred in the 
eleventh year of King Zedekiah ; nineteenth of Nebuchadnezzar ; 
four hundred and twenty-four years three months and eight days 
from the foundation of the temple ; four hundred and sixty-eight 
years from the beginning of the reign of David; three hundred and 
eighty-eight from the revolt of the Ten Tribes, and one hundred 
and thirty-four years after their captivity. 

Nebuzar-adan meeting Jeremiah, told him that these calamities 
were predicted by himself from his God, for their sins. As for the 
prophet himself, the general gave him liberty to go to Babylon to 
be cared for, or remain with those left behind of his own people. 
He chose the latter. 

Gedaliah was appointed Governor of Judea, by Nebuchadnezzar. 
He tried to persuade the people to submit to the King of Babylon, 
as had also Jeremiah. But the advice of both the governor and the 
prophet were spurned by a people panting for their own ruin. 

Gedaliah was assassinated, when the perpetrators and many other 
Jews fled to Egypt through fear, forcibly taking Jeremiah with 
them, against his will. 

Thus Juclah was taken captive ; but with the prophecies of Isaiah 
and Jeremiah, that after seventy years they should be set at liberty 
by Cyrus, and return and rebuild Jerusalem. Even the manner of 



120 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

taking Babylon (by turning the .river) was also foretold, and all 
nearly two centuries before Cyrus was born. 

And yet, with such prophets as these in their midst, whom God in- 
spired, it was for their sins and rejection of the Lord the Jews 
were made captives. 



PERIOD IV. PR03I THE CAPTIVITY, TO THE DESTRUCTION OP JERUSALEM, 3416 
A. ¥., AND 588 B. C, 4074 A. M., 70 A. C. 

Daniel, — The next after Habakkuk, was also one of the prophets. 
Though but a youth at the time Judah was carried away, yet he 
and Shadrach, and Meshach, and Abed-nego, soon attracted special 
attention for their abstemiousness and piety. 

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream in the second year of his reign, 
which troubled him ; but he could get no interpreter, neither by 
bribes nor threats. Upon this, he flew into a rage, which was paci- 
fied only by Daniel's offer to give the interpretation. This being 
done, Daniel (like Joseph, in Egypt) was promoted to be a great 
officer in the government of Babylon ; and Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abed-nego, were officers under him. 

Through jealousy and stratagem, the three last mentioned were 
cast into a fiery furnace, from which God delivered them. 

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed again, and Daniel interpreted that also. 
It was this dream in which the king was shown that he must ac- 
knowledge that his glory and greatness were the gift of God, on 
penalty of wandering in the fields and eating straw (or herbs), like 
an ox, untiL he would. Refusing, he was sent out, but in due time 
came to Daniel's terms, when he blessed, and praised, and honored 
the Most High. It is thought the king was a true convert, and died 
in the faith of the God of Israel. 

Belshazzar — Successor to Nebuchadnezzar, while holding an 
impious feast with his courtiers and concubines, and drinking drunk 
out of the holy vessels brought from Jerusalem, saw a hand writing 
on the wall, which Daniel was called to interpret. The interpreta- 
tion was, that the kingdom of Babylon was at an end, — and that 
night Belshazzar was slain. 

Darius. — Cyrus the Persian, after taking Babylon, gave it into 
the hands of Darius, i. <?., Cyaxares, for a time ; and he, because he 
saw an excellent spirit in Daniel, and, doubtless, having heard of 
his wisdom and worth, thought to make him chief officer in the 
realm. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 121 

Jealousy was again fired up among the officers of the king, to 
sacrifice Daniel to royal displeasure. 

The first attempt was made upon his official integrity ; but, find- 
ing everything right, they despaired of their purpose, unless they 
could hit him for his religion. To do this, a private bill received 
the royal signature, prohibiting any one asking a petition of any per- 
son save of the king during thirty days. 

The devisers of this plot knew they could impeach him now, as 
he was in the habit of turning his face towards Jerusalem, and pray- 
ing, three times a day. Soon a charge came to the king against 
Daniel, the president x>f the presidents. What has he done ? He 
prays to his God, which is asking a petition, contrary to law ; and the 
penalty is, casting into the den of lions. Have him forth ! 

The king saw the plot then, and would gladly have let him off; 
but the law on one hand, and the intolerable clamor of office-seekers 
on the other, induced him to yield. But as Daniel was brought 
forth, the king said to him, " Thy God, in whom thou trustest, will 
deliver thee, O Daniel ! " 

So he was cast in, and a stone placed upon the mouth of the den, 
and sealed with the king's seal and that of his lords, that the 
purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 

Then, " very early in the morning," the king came to the den, arid 
cried, with a " lamentable " voice, Daniel, O Daniel, has thy God 
preserved thee ? Daniel replied, that God had sent his angel and 
shut the mouths of the lions. Then was the king glad, and ordered 
Daniel taken out of the den, and those cast in who had tried to in- 
jure him ; and their bones were broken by the lions, ere they reached 
the bottom. 

The king then proclaimed a royal decree throughout the realm, 
for all the people to worship the God of Daniel, as he was the true 
God. Thus Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and Cyrus. 

This eminent man was also favored with visions of a very re- 
markable kind, showing the fate of the Babylonian empire, the rise 
and fall of the Persian empire, also the rise and fall of the Macedonian 
empire, the rise and fall of the Roman empire, and the rise, spread, 
glory, and eternal duration of the kingdom of Christ, which is not of 
this world, but is destined to fill the whole earth, and have no end. 

The predictions of these holy men, in this age of the world, are 
truly marvellous, and an overwhelming evidence that they were in- 
spired of God. 

Daniel prophesied from 606 B. C, — the same period, before Christ, 
as the appointment of the first Pope, 606, after Christ. He died in 
Chaldea. 

16 



122 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Obadiaii — Prophesied about this time ; and a great similarity 
can be seen between his and a portion of Jeremiah's writings. 

Ezekiel, — The prophet, was among the captives when Jehoia- 
chin, King of Judah, was carried away, and was settled with the 
colony of Jews on the banks of the Chebar, in Chaldea. 

He, like Daniel, had sublime visions of future things. He prophe- 
sied between 590 and 540 B. C. Eight years of the first of the 
time corresponded with the last eight of Jeremiah's time. His 
prophecy relates to Tyre, Egypt, Edom, and Judea. He spoke in 
the most solemn and reproving manner against the idolatry, hypoc- 
risy, and rebellion of the Jews, w T ith exhortations to faith, and con- 
fidence in God's righteousness, and upon repentance, promises of 
mercy and restoration. 

Cyrus — First King of Persia, becoming master of all the East, 
had a right to issue such orders as he pleased, with reference to any 
of his subjects, or any part of his realm. Accordingly, he made a 
royal proclamation throughout the land, that the Lord God had 
given him all the kingdoms of the earth, and had charged him to 
build him a house in Jerusalem. Who, then, is there of all his peo- 
ple ? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up ! 

Thus, from the very country that the ruin of Jerusalem came, its 
restoration came also. Besides the influence of God's Spirit upon 
Cyrus, the mention of his name, in the prophecy of Isaiah, as the 
future deliverer of the nation, nearly two hundred years before, had 
a great influence in disposing his mind favorably towards the Jews. 
The time was most favorable for such a move ; the country was all 
under one king, and he in favor of it. Just as it was in the time of 
Solomon — a general peace. God selects such times to begin 
some great work. Another example is, the introduction of the gos- 
pel, when the universal empire of Rome was at its zenith. The 
advocates of the new doctrine had to contend with only one form 
of government. The present peace of the world borders on some 
great event. 

Cyrus not only made a decree for the return of the Jews, but 
also delivered up the golden vessels taken from Jerusalem by Nebu- 
chadnezzar, — 5400 in number, — and ordered, also, contributions to 
the same end, that the work might go on. 

Just as the Hebrews borrowed (or solicited) contributions from 
the Egyptians, on the event of the exodus. 

Zeeubabel — Was the second Moses, to lead the people in a 
second exodus (3468 A. M., 536 B. C), and take them up to Jerusa- 
lem. With him also went up Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high-priest 
after the captivity. He was also son of Seraiah the high-priest, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 123 

whom Nebuchadnezzar put to death, and others, at Riblah, when 
Zedekiah was taken. 

The number who went up at this time, was not far from fifty 
thousand. On arriving at Jerusalem, they found it in ruins truly ; 
but began the work they went to do, by making a contribution for 
the temple, which amounted to four hundred and forty-four thou- 
sand dollars. Their next step was to erect the altar of burnt-offer- 
ing, which they did upon the same old foundation laid by Solomon, 
and offered the daily burnt-offering. They also revived the feast of 
tabernacles, and so set up the worship of God again at Jerusalem. 

The next step was to engage workmen to get cedars from Leba- 
non to Joppa, in floats, as in the building of the first temple, by 
Solomon. The work was vigorously prosecuted, so that the cere- 
mony of laying the corner-stone took place in the course of the 
next year after their arrival at Jerusalem, 3469 A. M., 535 B. C. 
This was a very imposing and thrilling scene. The priests, with 
their trumpets and cymbals, were arranged in rows, so as to sing 
and play alternately, and by responses. The most affecting part of 
the ceremony was the sobbing of the old men, who remembered 
the glory and worship of the first temple ; and the shouting for joy 
of the young men, at seeing the prospect of a new temple ; — the 
sobbing and shouting so intermingled, that they could not tell at a 
distance which prevailed. 

When the Samaritans, or Cutheans, who settled in the country 
from which the Ten Tribes were carried off, heard that the Jews 
were rebuilding the temple, under the authority of Cyrus, came up 
to Jerusalem, and proposed to Zerubbabel and the chief men, to unite 
with them in the enterprise. Being pagans, of course the Jews de- 
clined the offer; whereupon, the Samaritans took offence, and at 
once bribed some of the king's councillors to excite his prejudice 
against the Jews, and get him to interfere, and stop their building. 

So these hired liars entered devotedly upon their foul work, and 
prosecuted it to a successful issue, when a decree was passed by 
King Artaxerxes ; so, with authority, and probably with a detach- 
ment of the army, they went up, and with force and power stopped 
the work during the life of the king. 

In the second year of Darius, the prophets Haggai and Zecha- 
riah encouraged the Jews to go on with the work, in utter disregard 
of the " bribe decree " of Artaxerxes. This had the desired effect 
— to bring the matter before Darius, through the renewed com- 
plaints made by the Samaritans to him, by his officers, against the 
Jews, warning him if he permitted them to go on, they would get 
strong, and reject his authority, which would damage the tribute. 



124 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Government "pap" is no insignificant article in seasoning the 
loyalty of government officials, and in prompting them to acts of 
great solicitude for the revenue of the lord who divides liberally 
with his faithful servants. 

The king informs Zerubbabel of the complaints made against him 
and his people, when a reply is at once made out and sent to the 
king, in which they acknowledge the sins and judgments of their 
forefathers — ail of which were charged in the complaint. But ref- 
erence is also made to another matter, omitted in the complaint ; 
viz., that the God of heaven had showed them favor in the days of 
King Cyrus, when a royal decree was passed for the Jews to return 
and build their city. Now, if it please the king to have search 
made in the public records, he will find it so; and hence the apology 
for our persisting in the work ; and let the king send us his pleasure 
concerning the matter. 

Search being made, and the decree of Cyrus being found, the de- 
cree to stop the building was changed, and authority to go on 
renewed ; grants made, out of the revenue beyond the river, to 
assist them ; and if any man interfered to prevent the work, let his 
house be pulled down, a gallows made of the beams thereof, and he 
hanged upon it ! Let all this be done speedily, that they may offer 
sacrifices to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king. 

A motive for toleration among the heathen kings was, that they 
might have the prayers of persons professing all religions. 

The work now went on rapidly, and was completed, and the tem- 
ple was dedicated in the sixth year of Darius, King of Persia ; or 3489 
A. M., 515 B. C. The dedication and feast lasted seven days, with 
great joy; and they offered one hundred bullocks, two hundred 
rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve he-goats for a sin-offering. 
The appointments for the priests were filled up according to the law 
of Moses — purification observed. And so the Jews were restored. 

Haggai — The prophet, is supposed to have been born during the 
captivity, and returned with the colony under Zerubbabel. His 
prophecy was uttered after the return from the captivity, and 
abounds in encouragements and reproofs, respecting the building of 
the second temple. His design was, to nerve the people to prose- 
cute the work, in spite of their enemies. He also spoke of the com- 
ing, spread, and glory of Christ's kingdom. 

Some have thought his reference to the glory of the latter house 
over the former, took in the fact that the Messiah should appear and 
teach in the second temple. 

The Jews were strong in the belief that the Messiah would 
appear in this temple, even until its destruction by the Romans ; 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 125 

and to make their rejection of Christ consistent, they resorted to 
the alternative of pretending that a third temple is to be built, 
in which their deliverer will appear. 

Zechaeiah — The prophet, lived and wrote in Haggai's time ; he 
returned from the captivity under Zerubbabel. His purpose was to 
encourage the Jews in reestablishing their national institutions and 
ancient glory. He also spoke explicitly of the coming of Christ. 

Esther. — Under Ahashuerus (Artaxerxes Longimanus), King 
of Persia, about 3544 A. M., 460 B. C, another plot was laid against 
the Jews, from the fury of which they were delivered by Queen 
Esther the Jewess. Failing to defeat the building of the temple, the 
enemies of the Jews sought to cut them off at a blow. The king, 
on a great feast day, sent for the queen to appear before him, which 
she refused to do; for which the king rejected her, and offered her 
place to the most beautiful woman in the realm. At this, Mordecai, 
one of the captives of Judah, persuaded Esther, his niece, and an 
orphan, to make a trial of her charms before the king. To the as- 
tonishment of herself and uncle, she won the king's favor for her 
beauty, and was proclaimed queen, instead of Vashti ; still, it was 
not publicly known that Esther was a Jewess. 

Mordecai, being one of those who sat at the king's gate, discov- 
ered a conspiracy, formed against the king, made it known to him 
through Esther, when the conspirators were taken and hanged, and 
the king's life saved. 

But there was one Hainan in the king's employ, an Amalekite, a 
descendant of Agag, whom Saul was sent to destroy, who hated 
Mordecai, as he did all the Jews. But Mordecai refused to bow to 
Haman, as the other servants of the king did, when he passed; and 
for this, Haman resolved to destroy Mordecai, and all the Jews. To 
aid him in his purpose, he represented to the king that there was 
a people in the realm diverse in laws and religion from the king and 
his people, and that the safety of the realm required their destruction ; 
and, upon this showing, obtained a royal decree for the same, and 
offered to bear the expense of its execution himself. 

When this was known to Esther, she ordered Mordecai to call a 
meeting of the Jews, and, by fasting and prayer, ask the Lord to 
give her favor before the king, in a petition she was about to ask. 
This being done, she ventured before him with her request, which, 
at first, was simply a special request to the king and his favorite, 
Haman, to a private banquet with the queen. At this supper the 
king pledged himself to grant Esther her request, let it be what it 
would, under a forfeit of half the kingdom. 



126 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Esther, however, only made request for the king and Hainan to 
come again to a similar entertainment next day. 

This royal attention greatly nattered Hainan's pride, so that 
he made much boast of it to his wife and friends ; yet he felt that 
even this honor availed but little, while Mordecai the Jew sat in the 
gate and refused to bow to him: this stung him to the quick. His 
wife and friends at once suggested a plan to get rid of this grief to 
his mind : " Let a gallows be erected fifty cubits (about ninety feet) 
high, and let Mordecai be handed thereon." So the gallows was 
erected, and stood waiting for its victim. 

That night the king could not sleep. He took it as an omen, and 
so ordered his records to be read, to see if any neglect of his could 
be discovered. When the account of the detection by Mordecai of 
the conspiracy against the king was read, he inquired if any reward 
had been made him for this loyalty. When he found that nothing 
had been done, Haman was called before the king, not knowing 
what had just transpired. 

The king then asked Haman what should be done to the man 
whom the king should delight to honor. (Xow, thought Haman, 
is the time for me to seize upon royal favor.) He replied, Let the 
royal apparel be put upon him ; let him sit on the king's horse, and 
let the crown royal be placed on his head, and let one of the king's 
most noble princes lead the horse through the city and proclaim, 
Thus shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor ! 

To Hainan's inexpressible consternation, all this was to be done 
to Mordecai the Jew, and Haman was to lead the horse. On return- 
ing to his home, he was not half so elated as before, having been 
humbled before the man he so much hated. His wife and friends 
then told him, that if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before 
whom thou hast begun to fall, your ruin is at hand. 

But the messengers came for Haman to hasten to the queen's ban- 
quet. Being seated with the king and queen at table, and Haman 
still not knowing that Esther w^as a Jewess, the king called for her 
request. 

She modestly begins : " If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, 
and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and 
my people at my request." She then referred to the diabolical 
plot, already ripe, for their and her destruction, and that it drew 
nigh. She concealed the fact that it was a plot against them as 
Jews, so that the king should have no time to allow any prejudices 
Haman might have instilled into his mind against Mordecai to 
influence his judgment or decision. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 127 

The king was aroused, and asked at once, Who is he ? or, "Where 
is he that dares presume on such a deed ? 

Now the timid Esther has courage to speak. " The adversary 
and enemy is this wicked Haman ! " These words fell like thunder 
upon the wretch, who thought to revel in innocent blood. 

This aroused the king to wrath and vengeance ; and an order 
was issued at once for Haman to be hanged on the very gallows he 
had erected for the execution of Mordecai the Jew. 

The decree had already gone forth for the execution of the Jews, 
on a given day, and could not be revoked by a royal proclamation. 
But means were set on foot at once, to inform the Jews what had 
taken place at the capitol, and that liberty was granted them by the 
king to put themselves in an attitude of self-defence on the fatal 
day, which they did, and gave a successful rej^ulse to their ene- 
mies, and so were delivered by Esther, the queen, God's agent 
for that merciful purpose. Then was Mordecai (like Joseph) next 
to the king, and a blessing to his people, the Jews. 

The annual festival of the Jews, called Purim, held in remem- 
brance of this event, has been kept by them from that time to the 
present, without interruption. Similar occasion to the Passover. 
Haman was hung on his own gallows ; — so the inventor of the 
guillotine, in Paris, was among the first to suffer by it. 

Ezea. — The second colony of Jews left Babylon for Jerusalem, 
under Ezra, about fifty years after the completion of the temple. 
He was a descendant of Seraiah, who was put to death at the time 
Zedekiah had his eyes put out. He w T as a priest, and a ready scribe 
(i. e., expounder) in the law of Moses, and received his commission 
trom Artaxerxes Longimanus. 

The king fitted out Ezra with contributions for his work ; gave 
him the office of chief civil magistrate beyond the river, with power 
over the officers, and power to appoint civil officers, and to inflict 
any punishment, even to death, for the violation of any of the laws 
of Ezra, or of the king. 

All this he conferred upon Ezra for the sake of the Lord his God, 
whose house was in Jerusalem. 

Before starting, Ezra collected the people together, and besought 
the Lord to take care of them in their journey, which lay through 
an enemy's country. 

Ezra thus felt his dependence upon God, for he was ashamed to 
ask a guard of soldiers, after he had told the king that the Lord's 
face was towards them that trust in him, and against all those who 
turn from him. The Lord heard their cry, and brought them safe 
to Jerusalem, having delivered them from the enemy all the way. 



128 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The treasure they brought with thein amounted to over a million 
of dollars, which was all put into the treasury of the Lord, in 
charge of the priests. 

Xo sooner had Ezra taken his office as governor, than he was in- 
formed of a very glaring violation of the law by the people, in tak- 
ing wives from among the heathen — a thing expressly forbidden 
by the Lord himself. This gave Ezra much grief, so that he rent 
his clothes, and plucked off the hair of his head and beard, and sat 
astonished and heavy-hearted till the evening sacrifice. When the 
people were then gathered together, he fell upon his knees, and 
spread his hands toward heaven, and made a most solemn, humble 
confession before God. 

At the close of this prayer, the people gathered around Ezra in 
great numbers, and wept very sore. 

Thus the work of reform was gloriously begun by prayer, humil- 
ity, confession, and tears. The work of separation from these 
unlawful marriages continued about three months, when the whole 
matter, as far as could be, was arranged according to the law of the 
Lord. 

From this time, and after, Ezra was superseded by Nehemiah. in 
office of governor. He turned his attention to the reformation of 
true religion among his countrymen. One very important measure 
was that of collecting the sacred books — especially the historical 
and other portions — from Chronicles forward, covering a space of 
about one hundred years — from 3450 to 3550 A. M. His services 
in this particular, by one so competent, shows the value set upon 
the Scriptures by the ancient people of God ; and posterity reaps 
the inestimable fruits of his labors. 

Ezra exceeded even King Jehoshaphat (who sent fit men through- 
out the realm to teach the people the law of the Lord), by originat- 
ing the custom of building synagogues throughout the land, where 
the people might easily get together and offer prayers, and listen to 
the reading of the law. 

This, unconsciously and undesignedly, introduced the dissolution 
of the established worship at Jerusalem, preparatory to the intro- 
duction of the glorious reign of the universal kingdom of the Mes- 
siah. So Christ declared, that the time had then come when men 
should worship God acceptably everywhere. 

The custom introduced by Ezra, is still kept up in the practice of 
building meeting-houses throughout the land ; and no better way 
can be devised than this to diffuse a knowledge of the law of the 
Lord and his Christ. 

Nehemiah — One of the captive Jews, remaining still cup-bearer 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 129 

to the King of Persia (Artaxerxes Longimanus), receiving a visit 
from one of his brethren from Jerusalem, inquired after their state. 

Upon learning of their low condition, and the hinderance of their 
work by their enemies, he became very sad. Not only sad, but he 
betook himself to earnest, humble supplication before God, in their 
behalf; making confession of their sins, as a nation, and imploring 
the forgiveness of God, and their return to him, by obedience. 

Such was his deep solicitude, that the king observed his counte- 
nance had changed, and inquired of him the cause of his sadness. 
He told him it was anxiety in behalf of his oppressed countrymen ; 
and he made request to the king to return to them. 

His request was granted, and letters of rights given, and instruc- 
tions to the king's officers beyond the river (Jordan), and a military 
escort sent to accompany ISTehemiah to Jerusalem, — 3559 A. M., 
445 B. C. 

He immediately surveyed the walls of the city, and, finding them 
all out of repair, aroused the people to commence at once the build- 
ing of the walls of Jerusalem. The spirit of opposition had not died 
out, notwithstanding the interposition of the decree of King Cyrus, 
and the overthrow of the plot of Haman ; for no sooner did they 
begin the walls, than Sanballat, Governor of Samaria, interposed 
every obstacle to prevent them. 

But the people were disposed to do as ISTehemiah had proposed ; 
and to this end portioned out different sections of the wall, and 
appointed overseers to prosecute the work with vigor and speed. 

They also put themselves in an attitude of defence, by wearing 
their swords while at work ; and Nehemiah, taking the oversight of 
the whole, had a trumpeter close by him continually, to give warn- 
ing, so that the enemy could not have time to fall upon them, ere 
they were ready for battle. So, by day and night, they kept strict 
watch, not even putting off their clothes, except for washing. And, 
during the building of the wall, when the opposition increased, they 
called the more earnestly upon the Lord, and put their hands the 
more vigorously to the work, until the walls were finished, to the 
great joy of the Jews, and the great grief and mortification of their 
enemies. 

Shortly after, the people collected together — about fifty thousand 
of them — when Ezra the priest stood upon a pulpit of wood, and 
read and expounded the law of Moses unto all that could under- 
stand. This caused them to lift up their voices and weep, and cry 
Amen ! amen ! to the holy law they had neglected. 

Next followed a reform, by confession of all the people, revival 

17 



100 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

of neglected rites, general consecration to the cause of God, and 
dedication of the wall. 

On the return, however, of Nehemiah, from a visit to his old 
friend Artaxerxes, and the court of Babylon, for five to ten years, 
he found the priesthood had become secularized, from the people 
neglecting to provide for their support; — the Sabbath had become 
desecrated by many, and remnants of mixed marriages, all of which 
he had aimed to regulate and reform. Having regulated all things as 
well as he could, according to the law of the Lord, he closes up his 
labors with this earnest prayer : " Remember me, O my God, for 
good." 

Nehemiah has been styled, and with good reasons, the first 
patriot, or father of patriots. 

" For disinterestedness, philanthropy, patriotism, prudence, cour- 
age, zeal, humanity, and every virtue that constitutes a great mind, 
and proves a soul in deep communion with God, Nehemiah will 
ever stand conspicuous among the greatest men of the Jewish na- 
tion ; and an example worthy of imitation by the first of every 
nation under heaven." 

With the Book of ISTehemiah the Old Testament histoiy closes, 

— about 3595 A. M., 409 B. C. After the death of Nehemiah, 
Judah became a province of Syria. 

In his time flourished Herodotus, the " Father of History," and 
Thucydides. These are the most ancient profane historians whose 
works are extant ; so that where sacred history ends, profane begins, 

— a fact worthy of special note. Hence to religion and letters we 
are indebted, under God, for a knowledge of the past. Plato and 
Socrates lived about the same time. 

Malachi — The last also of the ancient prophets, is supposed to 
have flourished in Nehemiah's time, or about 3595 A. M., 409 B. C. 
In his book he administers sharp rebukes for the relapses of the na- 
tion, after the reformation by Ezra ; specially for intermarriage with 
the heathen, withholding tithes, and general coldness and indiffer- 
ence to the worship of the good and great Jehovah. 

He seeks to intensify his exhortations, by declaring the Messiah to 
be near, and foretells of his coming by the heralding of the news 
by John the Baptist ; and thus sought to speed them on in true re- 
form and true piety. 

It is remarked that the composition of the Book of Malachi 
betrays signs of decay in the elegance and vigor of the Hebrew 
language. Be it so. God took good care, just as this noble tongue 
was passing out of common use, to stereotype his Holy Word there- 
in, for generations unborn to read. In like manner was the Greek 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 



101 



language ripening into a similar use, in which might be written, as 
with a pen of iron, the New Testament. Also the Latin, though for 
a less important purpose, became the depository of the thoughts 
of the " Fathers " of the early Christian Church. 



LIST OF THE PROPHETS, AND DATE (B. C.) IN WHICH THEY FLOUR- 
ISHED AND WROTE. CLASS I. BEFORE, II. DURING, AND III. AFTER 
THE CAPTIVITY. 



I, 



Samuel, Gad, Nathan, .... 
Ahijah, Iddo, Shemaiah, Azariah, Micaiah, 
Jahaziel, ...... 

Elijah, Elisha, 

Zechariah, ...... 

Jonah, 

Amos, ...... 

Hosea, 

Joel, 

Micah, 

Nahum, 

Isaiah, 

Zephaniah, 



f Jeremiah, 
Habakkuk, 

< Daniel, . 
Obadiah, 
Ezekiel, . 



Haggai, 
III. <J Zechariah, 
I Malachi, 



B.C. 

1165—1000 



1000—897 
909—825 
878—840 
862—790 
787—762 
785 — 725 
690—660 
750—710 
713—691 
810—698 
640—609 

629—588 
612—598 
606—534 
588—583 
595—570 

520—518 
520—518 
436—420 



From the close of the Old Testament history, which is with ~Ne- 
hemiah, we may rely upon the Apocrypha for most of the history 
of the Jews, to the time of Christ. 

During the period from the return from Babylon to Christ, we 
shall use the high-priests as guides to the History of Religion for 
that period. 

Jeshua — Was the high-priest who returned with the first colony 
of Jews under Zerubbabel. 

Joiakim — It is supposed, succeeded him, 483 B. C, during whose 
term of office, of thirty years, Ezra returned with the second colony 
of captives from Babylon. 



132 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Eliashib — Succeeded him m office, 453 B. C. He departed 
from the law in marrying a heathen wife (daughter of Sanballat) ; 
and for this Nehemiah deposed him from the priesthood, and drove 
him from the nation. In addition to the above offence, he gave up 
a part of the temple, devoted to sacred purposes, to Tobiah, for his 
own personal and secular use. 

Joiada — Succeeded him, 413 B. C, as high-priest. 

Joxatiiax I. — Came next in the office, in 373 B. C. In the 
eighth year of his serving, in the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon, 
King of Persia, Bagoses, Governor of Syria and Palestine, meddled 
with that which was none of his business, by appointing Joshua, 
brother of Jonathan, to the priesthood, for the purpose of supersed- 
ing him. This interference of a heathen ruler in the ecclesiastical 
affairs of the Jews, exasperated them to resistance. Joshua at- 
tempted the prerogatives of the office by force, when the assump- 
tion was rejected by force, and in the affray, Joshua was killed in 
the temple. 

Bagoses vented his wrath upon the Jews, by an impost of about 
six dollars on every lamb offered in sacrifice. This would be a 
double infliction, as the expenses of lambs for sacrifices had for 
some time been provided for out of the revenue of the Persian gov- 
ernment. 

Jonathan, however, retained the priesthood. 

In this affair we see the glaring incongruity of having the civil 
rulers invested with any power whatever over any religion whatever, 
to interfere with its peace and j^urity. Also the stupid folly of its 
ministers, in seeking government pap. 

Jaddua — Succeeded to the priesthood, 341 B. C. About this 
age flourished some of the most celebrated philosophers of an- 
tiquity. But by wilfully closing their eyes to the possibility that 
the Jews had a knowledge of the true God, or of his revealed will, 
they went about to establish their own righteousness, blindly seek- 
ing God where he was not. 

Even Socrates, with all his wisdom, only arrived at a conjecture 
that " there is something remaining for the dead, and that then it 
will be better for good than for bad men ; " and even this was re- 
ceived with such ill favor by his countrymen, that they took his life 
for heresy. Virgil, in speaking of Tartarus and Elysium, — the 
heathen for future misery and happiness — says : " The whole was 
a mere fable." The Pythagoreans, Platonists, Peripatetics, and 
Stoics, the four most renowned schools of philosophers, taught the 
doctrine of future rewards and punishments, but disbelieved it at 
heart. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 133 

Plato avowed to his intimate friends, that "mankind must be de- 
ceived ; there are truths the people are not to know; the world is 
not to be trusted with the true notion of God." The doctrine of 
the Jews was, that men must have the true notion of God, and woe 
to those who neglect and despise him. 

Philosophy and Sanballat unite in the sneer, " What do these 
feeble Jews ? " 

While Alexander the Great was engaged in the siege of Tyre, he 
sent to Jaddua for supplies ; but the Jews returned answer that 
they were under allegiance to Persia, and could not reasonably 
comply with his request. As the conqueror drew near Jerusalem, 
the priests, fearing his wrath, determined to go out in procession, 
dressed in white robes, and seek to appease him. When Alexander 
saw them approaching him, with the high-priest, Jaddua, at their 
head, he hastened to meet them ; and to the surprise of his staff 
and the Jews, made obeisance to the high-priest. " This sight," he 
said, " I saw in a dream, in Dios, Macedonia, and this priest bade me 
advance, and assured me of success." 

Alexander entered the city, and ordered the priests to offer sacri- 
fices, according to the Jewish ritual. 

Jaddua then showed him the prophecy of Daniel, and assured 
Alexander that it referred to him, and that Persia would fall into 
his hands. 

On his departure he granted the request of the Jews, which was, 
that they might be permitted to live according to the law of their 
fathers, and be exempt from tribute on every seventh year, when 
they were forbidden to cultivate their land. 

The integrity of the Jews to their faith, is seen in the refusal of 
some of them to obey the orders of even Alexander's officers in 
Babylon, in repairing the heathen temple of Belus. 

For this refusal the officers caused some of them to suffer military 
punishment, and others even death. 

Complaint being made to Alexander, he inquired into the circum- 
stances, and finding that the Jews refused obedience because of the 
work being an idolatrous enterprise, he released them from their 
tasks and abuses, and gave them liberty to return to Jerusalem with 
honor. 

Herodotus speaks of this people as " adhering closely to their 
law, choosing to suffer death rather than break its precepts." He 
speaks of their captivity; that "they had only one city, and in the 
midst of it a stone enclosure (the temple), with two doors, and in- 
side a square altar of unwrought stone. Near this altar is a build- 
ing, in which is a large golden candlestick, which has a light night 



134 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

and clay. They have no image, no grove, and the priests are there 
continually, performing certain purifications, and drink no wine in 
the temple." 

These statements above show the Jewish Church to be in a very 
tolerably prosperous condition at this time. 

The high-priest Jaddua died 321 B. C. 

Oxias I. — Succeeded him, and died about 300 B. C, and was 
succeeded by his son. 

As no warrior of this acre could be content without subduing the 
Jews, Ptolemy Lagus next besieged Jerusalem; and taking advan- 
tage of the Jews' regard for the Sabbath, — on which clay they would 
not defend themselves, — he entered the city without opposition, 
B. C. 320. At first he treated them with rigor — taking one hundred 
thousand of them prisoners ; but after a time allowed them liberty, 
and appointed many to offices of trust and importance. 

Simox " the Just " — Next in the office of the high priesthood, 
was so called from the holiness of his life, and the integrity of his 
actions. He repaired and fortified Jerusalem, and benefited his 
nation greatly. 

The greatest work of Simon the Just was the completion of the 
canon of the Old Testament, by adding the Books of Chronicles, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Malachi. This took place under the 
sanction of the men of the great synagogue, by which name a suc- 
cession of elders — one hundred and twenty in number — who lived 
after the Babylonish captivity, were called, the last of whom was 
Simon the Just. He was the last high-priest who acted as president 
of the Sanhedrim, or council ; hereafter the offices were distinct. 

The origin of the Sanhedrim is variously stated, — some claiming 
it to be the continuation of the assistants appointed to help Moses, at 
the suggestion of Jethro, his father-in-law; others, that it originated 
after the captivity, to serve as a congress of the nation. It con- 
sisted of seventy-two members, and was in active operation until 
the time of Christ, and was the supreme court of the Jews. After 
the subjection of the nation to the Romans, the Sanhedrim was 
deprived of the power to inflict capital punishment, and hence the 
reason why the Sanhedrim delivered Christ to Pilate to be crucified. 

Simon, dying 291 B. C, was succeeded by 

Eleazae I., — His brother, in the high priesthood. 

During his jH'iesthood, Antigonus Socheus, a learned and jrious 
man, was president of the council. 

In urging men to the service of God, from motives drawn from 
the abstract conception of his holiness and perfections, — upon his fol- 
lowers misunderstanding and misconstruing his meaning, — anew 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 135 

sect sprung up under Sadok, one of his disciples. Sadok denied the 
resurrection of the dead, future rewards and punishments, the 
existence of angels and spirits, and declared death to be an eternal 
sleep. From him sprang the sect known in the time of Christ by 
the name of Sadducees. This sect of blasphemers and atheists 
were practical antinomians, — literally urging each other to "eat 
and drink, for to-morrow we die." 

The Egyptian kings showed much favor to the Jews, both in 
Egypt and in Jerusalem. Ptolemy Philadelphia, the reputed 
founder of the Alexandrian Library, requested a copy of the He- 
brew Scriptures, at the suggestion of Demetrius Phalereus, his prin- 
cipal librarian, to put into his library. Aristeas and Andreas were 
sent by the king to Eleazar the high-priest to make the request. 

Upon this the Sanhedrim appointed six men for each of the 
Twelve Tribes — making a board of seventy-two — to translate the 
Bible into Greek, for the use of the Jews in Egypt, who then spoke 
Greek, — it being the prevailing language of the time. This work 
is called the " Septuagint," or Greek Version of the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures ; translated about 286 B. C. 

Unlike the philosoj:)hers of Greece, the wise men of the Jews 
thought it safe to unfold to the people and the world the true notion 
of God. Those ancient priests of God's altar deemed it safe to 
allow the common people not only to have the Scriptures, but even 
translated them into the common tongue, that they might read and 
know God's will. The Septuagint was the first translation of the 
Scriptures ; it was done by Alexandrian Jews. The favor of the 
king made a fine opportunity for Bible introduction and distribu- 
tion in heathen Egypt. 

Harasses, — Brother of Eleazar, came to the office of high-priest 
276 B. C. For some time the Jews enjoyed quiet, until the wars 
between the kings of Syria and Egypt, foretold by Daniel. 

Onias II., — Son of Eleazar, succeeded Manasses in the high 
priesthood. Being of a sordid and selfish soul, he refused the an- 
nual tribute to the King of Egypt, of twenty talents of silver, — 
though Euergetes still favored the Jews, and made large offerings 
to the temple on his visit to Jerusalem, 245 B. C. The king sent a 
demand for the arrears, and a pledge of prompt payment in future, 
accompanied with a threat of vengeance in case of refusal. Onias 
still persisted in his refusal to pay, when, by the timely interference 
of one Joseph, who gave pledges for the sum due, the nation was 
saved from the wrath of an offended king and his army. Joseph, 
however, was permitted to use the army himself, to bring Onias to 
terms, but spared the nation further harm. 



136 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Simox II. — Came into the office of the high-priest 217 B. C. In 
a few years after, Ptolemy Philopater came to Jerusalem, and, as a 
return for the preservation of his life by a Jew, in a late battle, he 
ordered sacrifices to be offered, and made presents to the temple. 

Philopater then wished to enter the temple, and even the holy of 
holies, where none went but the high-priest, and that only once a 
year. On being refused, he claimed that he entered other temples, 
and insisted on proceeding, when, by the prayers of the priests, the 
king all of a sudden fell upon the floor, powerless and speechless, 
and was quickly carried out by his attendants. 

At this the king was filled with wrath, threatening vengeance on 
the Jews. He took away their national privileges, drove from his 
court all who did not sacrifice in heathen temples, and degraded them 
to the rank of slaves, and resistance was punished with death ; to 
which was added the brand of the ivy-leaf, with a hot iron, on their 
bodies, — the badge of the votaries of Bacchus, the god of wine. 

Then, with bribes, tempted as many as he could to forsake the 
religion of their fathers ; and those who refused, were put to death, 
as "enemies of his government." 

The king next sent orders throughout the land to gather the Jews 
to Alexandria, threatening death on any who should conceal one, 
thrust them into the hippodrome (a large place for shows and games), 
where he ordered them trodden to death by five hundred elephants, 
made furious by wine and frankincense. Whilst awaiting their 
doom, the Jews prayed unceasingly to God for deliverance ; and 
when the hour of doom arrived, the elephants turned upon the spec- 
tators and soldiers, and slew more of them than of the Jews, 
though forty thousand of the latter perished. 

The king was so terrified at this Divine protection, and the recol- 
lection of his fall in the temple, in answer to the prayers of the 
priests, that he revoked his infernal decrees, and restored the Jews 
to liberty again. 

Praying Daniels can move the arin of God, and the hearts of 
kings. 

The Jews suffered much by a war, in which Philip of Macedon 
and Antiochus the Great intended to make spoil of Egypt, when 
the Romans interfered, and forbade the execution of their designs. 
Antiochus, wishing to gain the allegiance of the Jews, colonized 
many of them from Babylon to Lydia and Phrygia ; so the Jews 
whom the apostles found in Asia Minor, were descendants from 
these colonies. 

Onias III. — Succeeded to the priesthood on the death of Simon 
II., 195 B. C. Onias was a worthy man, but lived in troublous 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 137 

times. In 187 B. C, Joseph, the collector of the revenue, now very 
aged, sent an embassy to Egypt, to congratulate Ptolemy Epiphanes 
on the birth of a son. 

Joseph's elder sons declining the embassy, Hyrcanus, his younger 
son, twenty years old, undertook it. 

Instead of drawing upon his father's agent there for ten talents, 
he took a thousand, and purchased two hundred beautiful slaves, 
and, with a large sum of money, presented them to the king and queen, 
and gave large gifts to the courtiers, by which he obtained his father's 
office as collector of customs. His brothers were offended at his 
perfidy, gave him battle on his return from Egypt, in which Hyrca- 
nus was victor, and two of them slain. The principal Jews at Jeru- 
salem refused to have intercourse with him. 

His father dying soon after, a contest arose between him and his 
brothers about the property ; when Hyrcanus was obliged to flee to 
a fortress east of Jordan, until the accession of Antiochus Epipha- 
nes, when, being threatened for his doings, destroyed himself. 

Onias favored him so far as to take charge of his treasures, and 
deposit them in the temple. 

Simon, oldest son of Joseph and governor of the temple, getting 
at variance with Onias, instigated the King of Syria to seize the 
treasures of the temple, and so get the money belonging to Hyrcanus. 
This paved the way for terrible sufferings upon the Jewish nation 
shortly after. 

In 176 B. C, the King of Syria sent his treasurer, Heliodorus, to 
seize the treasures of the temple. This threw all Jerusalem into a 
panic, and many were the prayers offered up to God to deliver the 
temple from the plunderer, who sought the sacred treasures, as well 
as those of Hyrcanus, which he was wickedly sent to take also. 

At this juncture, a strange sight presented itself to Heliodorus: a 
horse, with a terrible rider upon him, and he came fiercely towards 
him, striking at him with his forefeet ; and the rider's armor appeared 
to be of gold. 

Besides, two young men stood one on either side, having strength, 
beauty, and splendid apparel, who scourged him continually, and 
gave him many sore stripes. He also fell down straightway, he and 
his guard, being greatly astonished and overcome by the sight. 

On returning, the king asked who would be a proper person to 
send again. If, said he, you have an enemy, or traitor, send him ; 
you will doubtless receive him again well scourged, if, indeed, he 
escape with his life ; for in that place there is a special presence of 
God, who watcheth it, and beateth back all who come near to 
hurt it. 

18 



1C8 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

But corruption in the nation, and force outside of it, did it harm. 
Onias was deposed from the priesthood by Epiphanes, and suc- 
ceeded by 

Jason — His younger brother, as high-priest. This he obtained 
by a bribe of four hundred and forty talents, as purchase money, in 
addition to the tribute. Jason having acquired a taste for Grecian 
manners, erected a gymnasium at Jerusalem, in which the Jewish 
youth were taught the games and sports of the heathen, which lead 
to a neglect of the law. Onias was detained at Antioch, so that his 
influence might not be felt against these innovations and sins. 

Epiphanes, making a visit to Jerusalem, was received with great 
attention by Jason, who was soon, however, made to hang upon the 
same gallows he had erected for Onias III. Jason sent Onias, his 
younger brother, to Antiochus on business, who assumed the Grecian 
name Menelaus, and offered the king three hundred talents more 
for the high-priest's office, which was granted him, 172 B. 0. 

Being unable to drive Jason from Jerusalem, Antiochus sent an 
army to assist Menelaus, when Jason fled to the Ammonites. 

Mexelaus. — Menelaus being unable to raise the money to pay 
his bribe, sold off the golden vessels of the temple to do it. 

For thus sacrilegiously obtaining the high priesthood, Onias III. 
reproved him ; whereupon he hired Andronicus, ruler of Antioch, to 
put the aged priest to death, which was done in the temple of 
Daphne, where Onias had fled for protection. This act so displeased 
Epiphanes, that he caused Andronicus to be put to death. 

A deputation of Jews, from the Sanhedrim, made complaint to 
Antiochus of the sacrilege of Menelaus, which was clearly proved ; 
but through the influence of one Ptolemy Macro, he persuaded the 
king, and secured him, so the apostate high-priest was acquitted, 
and the deputies put to death. 

Omens of ill, and of distress for the devoted remnant of Israel, 
multiplied rapidly. 

A report of Antiochus's death, while in Egypt, reached Jason, 
when he raised an army and drove Menelaus to take refuge in the 
stronghold of Zion. Thinking that this was a general revolt of the 
Jews, Antiochus hastened to Jerusalem, took it by storm, and, in a 
massacre of three days, forty thousand were slain, and as many 
taken captives and made slaves. 

Guided by the apostate Menelaus, the Syrian king (unlike Cyrus), 
entered the sanctuary and carried away all the gold and silver he 
could find. To make the desecration more complete, Antiochus 
caused a sow to be sacrificed on the altar, and the liquor in which, 
swine had been boiled, was sprinkled through the whole temple. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 139 

A Phrygian was appointed Governor of Jerusalem; Menelaus 
reappointed high-priest ; while Jason, failing of the reward for his 
treachery, fled, first to Arabia, then to Egypt, and finally to Sparta. 

How hateful is kingly interference in the affairs of religion, when 
vile men obtain its offices, and are sustained by viler men as kings ! 
Away with Church and State united, or even confederated ! 

Antiochus Epiphanes being obliged to yield to the orders of the 
Roman Senate, and leave Egypt, in 167 B. C, resolved to pour out 
his wrath upon the Jews. 

Apollonius, his chief collector, was sent with an armed force to 
Jerusalem; entered it under pretence of peace, and then, on the 
Sabbath, when the Jews would not fight, let his soldiers loose, to 
massacre and plunder. Some of the Jews were slain, and many 
sold for captives ; the buildings near Mount Zion were demolished 
to make the fortress into a citadel. So in June, 168 B. C, the daily 
sacrifices ceased. 

An edict of Epiphanes followed this, enforcing obedience and 
uniformity to certain heathen rites throughout his dominions. By 
this intolerant measure, the observance of the Jewish religion was 
suppressed; the temple at Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter; an 
idol set up, and sacrifices offered to it on the great altar. An old 
Athenian priest was appointed to perform the service, the temple 
filled with all the pagan abominations, and idols set up in the towns 
throughout Judea. 

Thus, as in the clays of Ahab, true religion appeared to be oblit- 
erated ; but the smoke of hundreds of altars ascended to heaven to 
form a cloud of wrath to return upon the oppressor. Besides, there 
were many Jews, pious and praying, who were waiting for the con- 
solation of Israel, though both the Jewish polity and religion were 
almost every vestige of them obliterated. Nor did they wait in 
vain. 

Maccabees. — These deliverers were of the tribe of Levi, de- 
scendants of Asmoneus ; and hence their reign, of one hundred and 
twenty-six years, is called the Asmonean dynasty. 

At this time, 167 B. C, Mattathias, an aged priest, was head of 
the family, of the course of Joarib, descended from Phineas, son of 
Aaron. He was much esteemed for his virtues and piety, and had 
five sons, — Johanan, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and Jonathan. Their 
residence was in Modin, near Joppa, and the battle-ground of David 
and Goliath. The city was on the peak of a high hill, and hence a 
strong place of defence. 

Epiphanes sent Apelles to Modin, to see the edict of conformity 
carried into effect. He found Mattathias mourning over the miseries 



140 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

of his nation, but attempted, by the strongest bribe, to persuade 
him to set the people an example, by performing the heathen rites 
prescribed by the king. Mattathias stoutly declared, though all the 
nation forsook the religion of the fathers, yet he would not. 

It is related, that when an apostate Jew came forward to sacrifice 
upon the altar at Modin, in obedience to the king, Mattathias could 
contain himself no longer, and sprang forward and slew the apostate 
on the altar. He also put Apelles, the king's commissioner to death, 
and tore down the altar he had caused to be polluted. Very like 
Jehu and Moses. 

Mattathias, knowing that he had now exposed himself to the 
wrath of the king, went through the streets of Modin, and cried, 
" Whoever is zealous for the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let 
him follow me ! " He then left his home and property, and, with 
his sons and a few — only ten in all — fled to the mountains. 

Others fled to the mountains, but the heathen soldiery pursued 
them. Finding a body of Jews, about a thousand in all, the cow- 
ardly ruffians attacked them on the Sabbath (knowing that the 
Jews would not fight on that day), and massacred them in cold- 
blooded fury. 

This event convinced Mattathias and his followers that resistance 
would be in vain, unless they stood on the defensive, Sabbath days 
and all. They were then joined by many like-minded with them- 
selves, by the names " Assideans and Zaddukeans," afterwards Phari- 
sees and Sadducees. 

Antiochus was full of wrath at the intelligence from Palestine, 
and hastened thither to enforce his edict with increased rigor. 
Many were the faithful witnesses during this persecution, among 
whom were an aged priest, seven brothers, and their mother. 

Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, had swine's flesh forced into 
his mouth, but spit it forth, choosing to die rather than eat it. An 
attempt was then made to induce him to take such flesh as he could 
eat, and prepare it, and then pretend before the people that he was 
yielding to the king's command. But, " taking on him a discreet 
consideration," he chose rather than disgrace his age, or leave a per- 
verse example to the young, to yield to torture and death, than be 
a dissembler in the law of the Lord ; and while being beaten to 
death, yielded his spirit up to his God. 

Mattathias and his followers increased in numbers, boldness, and 
victories, by demolishing altars, routing their persecutors, and cir- 
cumcising the children of Jews. In the following year, 166 B. C, 
Mattathias was gathered with the fathers. In his dying charge, he 
encouraged his followers to trust in God, and he would prosper 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 141 

them. He suggested that his son Simon act as counsellor, and 
Judas as captain of the forces — known as Judas Maccabeus. 

The term Maccabees, is said to be derived from the letters borne 
on the standards of the Asmonean troops ; viz., M. C. B. J., the 
initials of four words, meaning, " Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, 
among the gods?" 

Similar is the origin of the term Whig, which is made of the 
initials of the four words, " We hope in God." 

Judas soon earned a reputation in arms which placed him in rank 
with Joshua, Gideon, and David, by dispersing his enemies, enlarg- 
ing his people, and making his name great as a man of war. 

Epiphanes was attending a debauched festival of Jupiter Olympus, 
his favorite idol, which gave the Maccabees a good opportunity to 
enlarge themselves. Their first success was against Apollonius, 
Governor of Samaria, whose sword Judas obtained, and used it in 
his subsequent battles. Soon after, he defeated Seron, Governor of 
Coelo-Syria, whose army was composed of many Samaritans and apos- 
tate Jews. The Samaritans had allowed, at this time, their temple 
on Mount Gerizim to be dedicated to Jupiter Xenius, thus turning 
away from the alliance they wished to form with the Jews in the 
days of Nehemiah. 

In the battle with Seron, the armies met on the heights of Beth- 
lehem. The smallness of the numbers of the Maccabees well-nigh 
discouraged them when they saw the hosts of the enemy ; but 
Judas made an appeal to them, to trust in the God of battles, who 
had and still could give the battle to few as well as many, if his 
help was sought. Seron was overthrown. 

The successes of the Maccabees put the wrath of Epiphanes into 
a seven times hotter state than usual, when he resolved on the ex- 
termination of the Jews. His treasures being exhausted, word was 
given out that the prisoners would be sold cheap, so as to induce 
buyers to be present ; and with an army of fifty thousand, well sup- 
plied with able generals, the march begins. 

The Jews, knowing the wrath of the king, gathered together at 
famous old Mizpah, as in ancient times, and fisted ; put on sack- 
cloth; cast ashes on their heads; opened the Book of the Law; 
brought in their tithes, and then cried unto the Lord for their deso- 
lations, and asked him earnestly how they could stand before their 
enemies, except thou, O God, be our help. 

Judas then made ready for battle ; and, finding that he was to be 
attacked in the night, retreated to the mountains, — the Syrians 
supposing they had fled. The Maccabees fell upon them early in the 
morning, and put them to flight; — Nicanor, the general, making his 



142 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

escape in the garb of a slave. In the following year Judas gained 
further success against Lysias, whereupon Judas and his brethren 
resolved to cleanse the sanctuary at Jerusalem. 

So all the host assembled at Mount Sion. Great were their lam- 
entations when they saw the desolation ; the altar profaned ; the 
gates burned down ; the shrubs growing in the courts, as* in the for- 
est. Judas then set a detachment of the army to protect them, 
while the priests cleansed the sanctuary. Not knowing what to do 
with the altar, which had been defiled by Antiochus's sacrifice of a 
sow thereon, but fearing it might be a reproach to them, it was 
removed, and piled away, until a prophet should arise to instruct 
them what to do with jt. They then built a new altar, and sup- 
plied the temple with the candlestick, shewbread, and vessels, and 
so set up again the temple service. Thus the daily sacrifices were 
resumed, just three years after the dedication to Jupiter, on the 25th 
of December (Christmas), 1G5 B. C. This dedication of the new 
altar, and re-dedication of the temple, lasted eight days. 

The prophet referred to above was evidently the one spoken of 
by Moses, Deut. 18 : 18. 

Thus the Jews were again delivered from their oppressors, and, 
by throwing off the Syrian yoke, rendered the nation independent. 
They were further set at rest by the sudden death of Antiochus, 
who, enraged at other disasters in the east, started once more to 
exterminate the Jews ; when, being suddenly seized with a terrible 
disease in the bowels, he fell from his chariot and broke his neck. 

Thus once more the Lord made the wrath of man to praise him, 
and the remainder he restrained. The eleventh chapter, twenty-first 
to thirtieth verses, of Daniel, are thought to refer to the events of this 
reign. Indeed, infidel Porphyry thought the prophecy so minutely 
descriptive of the events, that he declared it must have been written 
after the events, instead of before, which, however, was not so. 

Judas Maccabeus next found it necessary to weaken the strength 
of some of his nearer neighbors. About this time, the government 
was separated from the ecclesiastical office. Being successful in quell- 
ing his neighbors, Judas made a gathering to provide sacrifices for 
a sin-offering, in accordance with the law ; his purpose being to 
deplore before the Lord the slaughter of the people for their sins ; 
and thus " made reconciliation for the dead, that they (the living) 
might be delivered from sin." Similar to Joshua, at Mount Ebal 
(Joshua, 8 : 30, 31) ; or Jephthah (Judges 11 : 32, etc). 

This circumstance of Judas is taken as authority for the practice 
of praying for the dead. Rather slim authority for a grave religious 
tenet. 



HISTORY OF RELIOxION". 143 

The citadel of Acra, being still held by the Syrians, was a source 
of great annoyance to the Jews in Jerusalem, it being on Mount 
Zion, and very strong. Judas made an attack upon it, when a 
Syrian army was sent to its relief, composed of one hundred and 
twenty thousand men, three hundred chariots, and thirty-two ele- 
phants. It is said, " When the sun shone upon their shields of brass 
and gold, the mountains glistened therewith, and shone like lamps 
of fire." 

Against this host, Judas was successful in a night attack ; but 
Eleazar, his brother, after stabbing an elephant, on which he sup- 
posed the king was riding, the animal fell upon him and crushed 
him to death. Being a Sabbatical year, which the Jews had ob- 
served since their return, and provisions failing them, they were 
obliged to abandon the assault of Acra, and retreat to Jerusalem. 

Thither the Syrians pursued them ; but, by timely aid from Philip 
of Antioch, Lysias, and Eupator, were compelled to offer peace to 
the Jews. 

Menelaus, the wicked high-priest, joined the enemies of his coun- 
try ; but Lysias, thinking him the cause of this unsuccessful war, 
threw him into a tower of ashes, used for punishing criminals ; the 
wheel was put in motion, and he was immediately smothered — 163 
B.C. 

Thus his perfidy ended in his ruin and death, like the conspiracy 
of Absalom against David. 

Alcimus. — The title of high-priest was next conferred upon 
Alcimus, an apostate Jew, and as wicked as Menelaus, — a specimen 
of the wisdom wicked kings exercise in the bestowment of ecclesi- 
astical dignities. 

ITpon this the lawful high-priest, Onias, son of Onias III., turned 
in disgust from the corruptions at Jerusalem, and built a temple at 
Heliopolis, in Egypt. In this he officiated according to the Jewish 
rites, and to it many Jews resorted. This temple stood as long as 
the one at Jerusalem. Both were destroyed in the reign of Ves- 
pasian. 

Demetrius coming to the throne of Syria, Alcimus, whom the 
Jews disliked, accused them of disloyalty to Syria, when an army 
was sent by Demetrius, under Bacchides, 161 B. C, to confirm 
Alcimus in the high priesthood. The new high-priest, after slaying 
many righteous Jews, who went forth to reason with him peaceably, 
made himself odious by further acts of cruelty ; whereupon he was 
obliged to flee to Demetrius to escape the indignation of Judas, 
who was again aroused to redress his nation's wrongs. 

Alcimus labored to convince Demetrius that there could be no 



144 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

peace in Judea so long as the Maccabees existed, when Nicanor was 
sent into Judea to destroy Judas and his followers. Becoming en- 
raged at their resistance, like Sennacherib, he used blasphemous 
threats against the nation, city, and temple of the Jews, which ended 
in his head and right hand being suspended from the walls of Jeru- 
salem, about 160 B. C. 

The land now had an interval of rest, when Judas made a league 
with the Roman senate, to impose a restraint upon Demetrius, and 
stop his operations against Judea. The Jews were the first east- 
ern people who were freed by the Romans ; and at last these same 
Romans proved to the Jews their first utter destroyers. 

Demetrius, anticipating this interference of the Romans, resolved 
on one more attempt upon Judea ; and Bacchides was again sent with 
a large army against Judas. Judas, being elated with his past suc- 
cesses, and the prospect of aid from Rome, resolved, with a few, only 
eight hundred men, to attack the Syrian host. They charged the 
Syrian horse, broke their right wing; but the vast numbers closed 
in upon the little band, and Judas Maccabeus, the greatest deliverer 
of his nation since the time of David, fell. 

His aj)peal to his soldiers was to resolve to die manfully, and not 
stain their honor. 

He had failed to appeal to the God of his fathers for aid, and so 
was left to the j)rotection of an arm of flesh, when military valor 
proved a snare. In that, he more resembled Leonidas the Spartan, 
than Gideon the Judge of Israel. 

Jonathan and Simon, his brothers, buried him in the sepulchre of 
his fathers, in Modin, and all Israel made great lamentation over 
him. 

After Judas' death, the nation suffered great affliction, through 
the ascendency of Alcimus the apostate over the righteous Jews. 
But their sufferings drove them, as under Judas, to resolve on self- 
defence, and they chose Jonathan, the youngest son of Mattathias, to 
be their leader. He, with his brothers Simon and John, and many 
followers, retired to a strong position near Jordan, in the wilderness 
of Tekoa, with the river on one side and a morass on the other. 

Here Bacchides attacked them on the Sabbath, thinking they 
would allow him to butcher them in cold blood ; but the Jews fol- 
lowed the example of Mattathias, and gave the Syrians battle ; but, 
being overpowered by numbers, the rest of the Jews retreated, by 
swimming across the Jordan. The Syrians dared not follow them 
into that trap, remembering Pharaoh. Alcimus died shortly after 
this, being struck with palsy while engaged in profanely removing 
some of the sacred walls of the temple, 160 B. C. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 1-15 

Seven Years Vacancy. — The removal of Alcimus threw the 
apostate Jews into a decline, when Jonathan soon caused the force 
of his wisdom to be felt, and he was soon acknowledged, by both 
Jews and Syrians, as the rightful prince of Judea. 

Upon the appearance of Alexander Balas, as the rival of Deme- 
trius for the Syrian throne, it became an object for each of them to 
secure the favor of the Jews, as their power could easily turn the 
scale between the rivals. Hence the Jews had rest, and became 
pets with the kings, each vieing with the other in generous offers 
of aid and comfort to them. 

Jonathan seized upon this repose to improve and strengthen Jeru- 
salem. Balas sent a purple robe and a crown to Jonathan, and a 
commission to rule as Ethnarch, or Prince of Judea ; and also ap- 
pointed him to the high priesthood, which had been vacant seven 
years. 

Jonathan II. — He was of the course of Joarib, who was of the 
first class, or course, of Aaron, and hence lawful priest. He accepted 
the priesthood, and officiated at the feast of tabernacles, 153 B. C. 

Demetrius also followed up with his magnificent offers, which, 
from their greatness, and his enmity to the Jews formerly, led them 
to suspect him not honest, and so inclined to Alexander Balas. In 
an encounter between the rivals Demetrius was slain, and thus the 
Jews were delivered from a hurtful enemy, 150 B. C. 

A splendid marriage next ensued at Ptolemais, between Balas 
and Cleopatra, daughter of Philometor, King of Egypt, to which 
Jonathan was specially invited, and treated as a very distinguished 
guest. 

A number of changes occurred in Egypt and Syria at this time, 
all of which conspired to strengthen Jonathan and Simon. Upon 
this, Jonathan sent another embassy to Rome, to renew his friendship 
with that power. On their return they visited Sparta, and ascer- 
tained that "the Lacedemonians and Jews were brethren, and of 
the stock of Abraham." (?) 

In reporting their fortunes to the Spartans, they expressly de- 
clared that aid was granted them from Heaven, — showing that the 
Jews had not lost wholly the knowledge or fear of the true God of 
heaven. 

Tryphon, in plotting for the throne of Syria, aimed at getting 
Jonathan out of the way. He marched into Palestine, and, being 
met by a large force of the Jews, declined giving battle ; but Jona- 
than was brought by him into a snare, by offering to put the Jews 
into possession of Ptolemais. By this, Jonathan was induced to 
leave all his army but a thousand, who went on with him ; and as 

19 



146 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

soon as they entered the city, Jonathan was seized as a prisoner, 
and his followers massacred. 

Simon then roused the Jews to avenge their wrongs, when Try- 
phon again declined a battle, and pretended he only detained 
Jonathan until one hundred talents, due him, was paid. This beino- 
done, he still kept Jonathan, and harassed the Jews with an army. 
Bad weather forced the Syrians to retire into Gilead, where Jona- 
than was put to death, 143 B. C. Simon buried him in Modin, the 
sepulchre of the Maccabees. 

Simon III. — Under Simon, the independence and prosperity of 
the Jewish nation were achieved, so that " the Jews and priests 
were well pleased that Simon should be their governor and high- 
priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet." 

None, however, did arise until the one like unto Moses, and he it 
is to whom the gathering of the nations shall be. 

Thus, in 143 B. C, the triumph of the Maccabees was made com- 
plete, which was begun by Mattathias. Simon had many privileges 
confirmed to him, among which was the coining of money, speci- 
mens of which are still in existence. 

The faithless Sidetes, hearing of the wealth and magnificence of 
Simon, sent an army to plunder his treasure, which was defeated by 
the Jews under Judas and John, sons of Simon. Treachery was 
then brought to bear, when a son-in-law of Simon invited him to a 
banquet in the castle Docus, where he caused him to be murdered, 
with his sons Judas and Mattathias, at the instigation of Sidetes. 

Thus fell the last of the five sons of Mattathias the elder. 

John Hyrcanus. — An attempt was made upon the life of John, 
the last of Simon's sons (called Hyrcanus from his exploits in Hyr- 
cania, under Demetrius), but he defended himself, and defeated the 
assassins. 

Sidetes, hearing of the death of Simon, marched against Jerusa- 
lem ; but, during the siege, Hyrcanus asked a truce, to keep the 
feast of tabernacles, which was granted. Hyrcanus then applied 
for peace, when Sidetes, through fear of the Romans, offered terms 
by which it was concluded. 

Hyrcanus was now established as ruler of the Jews, and high- 
priest also, 131 B. C. The changes in the governments around him 
all operated to his advantage. 

He improved his opportunities further, by subduing the Greek 
colony, planted in Samaria by Alexander the Great ; also the Sama- 
ritans, by taking Shechem, and destroying the temple on Mount 
Gerizim; and also the Edomites, many of whom embraced the Jew- 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 147 

ish religion. Indeed, he enlarged the kingdom, until it was equal in 
extent to the clays of David and Solomon. 

At Jerusalem he built the castle Baris, which w T as made the royal 
residence of the Asmonean princes. When Herod repaired the 
temple, he cased this fortification over with polished marble. 

The Asmonean dynasty was now at the zenith of its prosperity. 
The two sects, the Sadducees and Pharisees, had become two politi- 
cal parties, the latter fast gaining the ascendency. Hyrcanus was 
a Pharisee ; but, from an attempt by them to reproach him by an 
unfounded charge that his mother was a prisoner of war, — which, 
if true, would unfit him for the high priesthood, — he left them, and 
went over to the Sadducees. 

Hyrcanus died, in the year 106 B. C, after having ruled the Jews 
thirty years, as their prince and high-priest. In his reign the Book 
of Ecclesiasticus (in Apocrypha) was translated from Hebrew into 
Greek. 

Now follows the Jewish monarchy under the Asmonean kings, 
which is lost in the Herodian dynasty, in which Christ was born. 
The religious character of the Jews at this time was better repre- 
sented by the Egyptian Jews than those of Jerusalem. 

Hyrcanus died without appointing his successor, yet left three 
sons, Aristobulus, Antigonus, and Alexander. The eldest assumed 
the title and diadem of king, also the high priesthood; but he 
esteemed the crown above the mitre. 

Aeistobulus I. — He .was the first Jew that wore a crown after 
the captivity, though the state displayed by Simon and Hyrcanus 
had a strong bearing towards aping the style of Roman and 
Grecian kings. Aristobulus imprisoned his mother, and three 
younger brothers. Antigonus was his favorite ; but, it being rep- 
resented to the king that Antigonus intended to seize the govern- 
ment, Aristobulus commanded him into his presence, without arms, 
on pain of death. Antigonus was falsely told, by his enemies, that 
the king wished to see him with his armor on ; and while approach- 
ing, was slain by the guards. Anguish of mind, and bodily disease, 
soon ended the days of Aristobulus. 

His queen soon released his brothers (his mother having previ- 
ously died in prison), when 

Alexander Janneus — Was made king. - He made a few efforts 
to strengthen himself, but with poor success. He being a Sadducee, 
the Pharisees strove to make him unpopular. Their hatred broke 
out openly in 94 B. C. When about to officiate as high-priest at 
the feast of tabernacles, the Pharisees stirred up the people to insult 
him with reproachful language, calling him the son of a slave, and 



148 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

pelting him with citrons they carried at the festival. Janneus, in- 
dignant at this, caused a massacre by his guards among the people, 
and afterwards kept a strong guard of hired foreigners about him. 

The opposition to the king, however, continued, until he asked 
what would appease them, when they replied, " Nothing, but for him 
to cut his own throat." 

It is said that, in less than six years, over fifty thousand Pharisees 
were slain by the Sadducees. 

In 88 B. C, the Pharisees induced Eucerus the Syrian to aid them 
against their king, which he did, and Janneus was obliged to flee ; 
but the Pharisees were glad to rejoin their king, to rid the country 
of the Syrians. 

In 86 B. C, in a skirmish with the Pharisees, he drove them into 
a fortress, took them prisoners to Jerusalem, and caused eight hun- 
dred of them to be crucified in one day, in presence of their wives 
and children. 

Being successful in a campaign beyond Jordan, his popularity in- 
creased, when he gave himself up to drunkenness, which brought on 
ague, from which he suffered three years, and died 77 B. C. His 
wife, Alexandra, being with him, asked his advice as to her future 
course, when he advised her to conceal his death, embalm his body, 
and after the surrender of Bagoda, then under siege, to conduct the 
army to Jerusalem ; then to summon the chief of the Pharisees 
before her, and offer to be guided by them in the affairs of the gov- 
ernment, and deliver the remains of Alexander Janneus to them, to 
be treated with ignominy. 

So pleased were they to get control of a power they had so long 
coveted, that they gave the half-decayed remains of the king a 
magnificent funeral, and established Alexandra as ruler, being con- 
tent to rule in her name. 

Hyrcanus. — Alexandra being established as ruler, she appointed 
her son Hyrcanus to be high-priest. He was indolent, which gave 
the Pharisees the sway. Upon this, Aristobulus, the younger of 
the princes, with many Sadducees, came to his mother and desired 
the privilege of going into voluntary exile, or be permitted to 
occupy some strong fortress, where they could protect themselves 
from their enemies. 

The latter request was granted, and he was afterwards appointed 
to the command of the army. 

In 69 B. C, Queen Alexandra died. Previous to this, Aristobulus 
planned for the chief power. His friends joined him, hoping to 
check the influence of the Pharisees; the queen would not interfere, 
when, after her death, the Pharisees declared Hyrcanus king. A 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 149 

battle was fought between the armies of the brothers, when Hyrca- 
nus was defeated ; his soldiers then joined Aristobulus, who became 
sole ruler, — Hyrcanus resigning the crown to him. 

The resignation of the unambitious Hyrcanus was not pleasing to 
his supporters, particularly Antipater, father of Herod the Great. 
Antipas, Governor of Idumea under Janneus and Alexandra, and 
father of Antipater, supported Hyrcanus, and made him believe his 
life was in danger, and induced him to flee to Petra, and seek protec- 
tion from Aretas, an Arabian prince. 

Soon an army returned, with Hyrcanus, toward Jerusalem, which 
was joined by the Pharisees, when Aristobulus was driven into the 
temple and a fortress near for defence. The victors committed 
many outrages, among which was the refusal to supply animals for 
the passover sacrifices, after Aristobulus had paid the sum demanded 
for that purpose. Baskets were lowered from the wall, with the 
money, which the besiegers took, and filled the baskets with pigs. 

Among the Jews who fled from this civil war, was one Onias, 
revered for his piety, whose prayers are said to have caused rain in 
time of drought. He was discovered, and brought back to the 
camp, and required to pronounce imprecations upon Aristobulus 
and his followers, for their immediate destruction. Being compelled 
to speak, he said : " O God, the King of the whole world ! since those 
that stand by me now are thy people, and those that are besieged 
are thy priests, I beseech thee that thou wilt neither hearken to the 
prayers of those against these, nor bring to pass what these pray 
against those." At the close of his prayer, the zealous observers of 
the law stoned him to death. 

Aristobulus was relieved from his peril by the Roman generals, 
while his army defeated Aretas, the Arabian chief, in his retreat. 
Aristobulus was losing influence in Rome. On a golden vine he had 
sent to be placed in the temple of Jupiter, in the capitol of Rome, the 
senate ordered his father's name to be put, instead of his own. 

Pompey listened to the charges made by the rival parties against 
their respective leaders, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus. He finally 
ordered Aristobulus into his presence, when he was required to order 
his fortresses to surrender, and was then dismissed. 

Aristobulus then hastened to Jerusalem, and prepared against a 
siege ; but he hesitated, and again submitted ; but his followers 
refused to admit the Romans into Jerusalem. 

Pompey then ordered Aristobulus put in chains ; marched to the 
city, when the friends of Hyrcanus permitted them to enter, and 
the siege of the temple and its fortress began. The garrison held 
out three months, and would have done so longer, but for the regard 



150 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

for the Sabbath by the Jews. They would have defended them- 
selves, if attacked on that day, but would not oppose the works of 
the besiegers; so Pompey was active in forwarding his engines of 
destruction. At last the works were completed, and th3 temple, 
taken by storm, when most of those within were slaughtered. The 
friends of Hyrcanus gave vent to their ill-will against their brethren 
by great cruelty. Even the priests were slain while performing the 
solemn services of the temple, choosing thus to perish rather than 
fight ; hence mingling their blood with the sacrifices, by their slaugh- 
tering brethren and foes. 

After the massacre, Pompey, with his principal officers, entered all 
apartments of the temple, even the holy of holies, to the grief of 
the Jews; and from this time, it is remarked, his decline began, which 
ended with his fall before Julius Ca3sar. Pompey, however, refrained 
from robbing the temple of its treasure, that the services thereof 
might be immediately resumed, and even ordered the temple cleansed 
from the horrid results of war. 

Hyrcanus was confirmed in the office of high-priest and prince 
of the Jews, but forbidden wearing a crown ; while Aristobulus and 
his family were carried to Rome, to grace Pompey's triumph, cele- 
brated, two years after, with great splendor. 

The Jewish cities taken by the Syrians were restored to the 
Roman province. 

Hyrcanus was now established as ruler of the Jews, with Antipa- 
ter as his principal adviser. 

Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, escaped from his guards on 
their way to Rome, and, returning to Judea, excited fresh troubles, 
which, however, resulted in a change of the Jewish monarchy into 
an aristocracy. Some of the principal Jews objecting to a mon- 
archical rule, had their wishes gratified by the appointment of five 
councils, one at each of the following places : Jerusalem, Jericho, 
Gadara, Amathus, and Sephoris, each ruling a certain district. 

In 57 B. C, Aristobulus, with his son Antigonus, escaped from 
Rome, returned to Judea, and excited a new revolt ; but the father 
was soon retaken prisoner to Rome, and the son liberated. 

Hyrcanus and Antipater retained the chief sway, and favored 
Gabinius, the Roman Prefect of Syria, by whom they had been 
assisted. During Gabinius' absence in Egypt, Alexander, son of 
Aristobulus, made another effort to regain the throne of Judah, 
when, upon the return of Gabinius, Antipater was confirmed in the 
power, after a battle Alexander lost on the plains near Mount Tabor. 

Gabinius was recalled, and Crassus sent as the Prefect of Syria, 
in 54 B. C. He came the same year to Jerusalem, and plundered 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 151 

the temple of its treasures. Eleazar the priest obtained a solemn 
pledge from him, that he would leave all the treasures in the tem- 
ple upon Eleazar giving up a large bar of gold, worth about fifteen 
thousand dollars, hid in a beam of the temple. But, upon obtaining 
this, he at once seized the rest of the treasure, amounting to ten 
millions of dollars. 

Thus the aid the Romans gave the Jews before, now turns to 
plunder. 

Crassus, however, fell into the hands of the Parthians, who poured 
melted gold into his mouth, to gratify his thirst for the article. 

Upon Julius Caesar getting into trouble in Egypt, Antipater 
marched to his aid, with a body of Jewish troops. 

Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, applied to Caesar to be restored to 
the privileges of his father, and at the same time complained of 
Hyrcanus and Antipater. But Caesar, remembering the services 
rendered him while in Egypt by the two latter, confirmed on them 
the offices of priest and prince, — thus doing away the councils of 
Gabinius. Antipater then appointed his sons Phasaelus, Governor 
of Jerusalem, and Herod (the Great), of Galilee. 

Some of the Jews, who envied Antipater, induced Hyrcanus to 
summon Herod before the Sanhedrim, to answer to the charge of 
putting men to death without a fair trial. Herod came with a letter 
from the Roman governor, Sextus Caesar, forbidding his punishment; 
he also came in robes of state, and with guards, not as a culprit. 

These things intimidated the council, so that they dared not pro- 
ceed, except Sameas, who stood forth and reproved Herod alone, 
and also the council, telling them if they quailed thus before Herod, 
he would be made an instrument to inflict on them the Divine dis- 
pleasure. Hyrcanus dismissed the council. 

Not many years afterward, Herod caused all the council to be put 
to death, except Sameas and one other. 

Some of Caesar's last acts were favors to the Jews. Hyrcanus 
was confirmed as high-priest and ruler ; tribute remitted in the Sab- 
batical year ; permission to repair the walls of Jerusalem, destroyed 
by Pompey, and privileges to the Jews at large throughout the 
Roman Empire. 

Malichus, an aspiring Jew, plotted the death of Antipater, that he 
«night rule under Hyrcanus. He succeeded in his design, by bribing 
the chief butler of Hyrcanus, who gave a poisoned cup to Antipater 
at a feast : he died. Malichus seized the government, then tried to 
persuade Phasael and Herod, Antipater's sons, that he was innocent 
of the atrocity. 

But Herod and Malichus being called to attend Hyrcanus to Tyre, 



152 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

on public business, with Cassius, Herod obtained a party of Roman 
soldiers of Cassius, who went out and slew Malichus as he drew 
near Tyre. 

The Pharisees, lately headed by Malichus, made an attempt against 
the sons of Antipater, and, being favored by Hyrcanus, were confident 
of success. But Phasael and Herod being successful, they reproached 
Hyrcanus for requiting their father's kindness with evil upon his sons. 
The rupture was quieted by Hyrcanus promising Herod his beautiful 
grand-daughter Mariamne as his wife. 

Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, again set up his claims, but was 
worsted by Herod ; Antony then applied to Hyrcanus to know who 
were fittest to govern, when he replied, Phasael and Herod. 

Antigonus then applied to the Parthians to assist him, when Jeru- 
salem was taken. Herod escaped ; but Phasael, fearing his enemies, 
took his own life, while Hyrcanus was delivered into the hands of 
Antigonus, whom the Parthians made king. 

Hyrcanus's life was spared, but his ears were cut off, to disqualify 
him for the priesthood. He afterwards resided with the Parthian 
Jews. 

Herod proceeded at once to Rome, and proposed that Aristobulus, 
brother of Mariamne, should be made king, and Herod to govern 
under him ; but the senate proposed to make Herod himself king at 
once. 

(In the year 40 B. C, so great was the expectation that a mighty 
personage was about to appear in Judea, among both Jews and 
pagans, that Virgil is said to have ascribed the fulfilment of this great 
hope to the birth of a son to Pollio, the Consul of Rome. The son 
soon after died. Notwithstanding, Virgil wrote a poem declaring 
the fulfilment of the long cherished hope.) 

In 38 B. C, Herod effected his marriage with Mariamne, thinking 
thereby to gain favor with the Asmonean family. The next year the 
last battle was fought by Antigonus, the last monarch of the Asmo- 
nean family, in the siege of Jerusalem, which was taken and plun- 
dered by the Romans. 

Antigonus was taken and sent to Antony in fetters, who put him 
to death by the scourge and the axe of the lictor. This he did at 
the request of Herod, who thought thereby to lessen the reverence 
of the Jews for the Asmonean family. 

Herod ascended the throne 37 B. C. He further poured out his 
vengeance upon the Sanhedrim, by putting them all to death except 
Pollio and Sameas ; — they urged a surrender of Jerusalem to the 
Romans, while the rest of the council opposed it. 

Pollio and Sameas are regarded by Jewish writers as among their 



HISTOKY OF EELIGIQST. 153 

most learned doctors, and are known by the names Hillel and Sha- 
maiai. Hillel was the father of Gamaliel, the instructor of Paul ; also 
last president of the council before Simeon. Luke 2 : 25 — 35. 

Aristobulus II. — Herod promoted Ananleus, an obscure priest 
of Babylon, to the high priesthood, which displeased Mariamne and 
the Asmoneans ; they considering Aristobulus, her brother, as the 
rightful incumbent of the office. The change was so made. 

Fearing the influence of the aged Hyrcanus, Herod made very 
flattering propositions to him, to return to Jerusalem and dwell. The 
Parthian king warned him to beware of the snare Herod was laying 
for him. But the old priest, suspecting no harm, returned to the 
holy city, but only to meet the fate of the snare. Herod disposed 
of him. 

" Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 

Herod saw in the movements of Alexandra, the mother of Aris- 
tobulus, a desire to obtain the crown also for her son. And while 
officiating at the feast of tabernacles, Aristobulus performed the 
public ceremonials in such a manner as to delight the people, and 
excite their applause. Herod then resolved on his death. Accord- 
ingly, Herod invited Aristobulus to a feast, at the close of which sev- 
eral entered the bath, among them the young high-priest, who was 
decoyed into the refreshment of the bath only to be drowned, — 
being held under water in pretence of sport. 

Fresh troubles sprang up in Herod's family, in consequence of an 
order he left with his uncle, Joseph, on his departure with Antony ; 
viz., if in his absence he should be taken prisoner, or killed, that 
Mariamne his wife should be put to death. This bred discontent in 
her mind, that ended in sorrow. 

Joseph disclosed this plot to Mariamne, as a mark of affection for 
her in Herod ; but she thought otherwise. On Herod's return, his 
sister Salome accused Mariamne of getting hold of his order for her 
death, by criminal intercourse with Joseph. The secret of Salome's 
hatred was the noble descent of Mariamne from the Asmoneans, 
while her own was from Antipater, an Idumean Jew. Herod allowed 
his wife to clear herself from the charge of infidelity to him, but he 
flew into a rage at her resenting his conduct towards her, in the 
order for her death. 

Octavius becoming sole emperor, Herod thought it wise to visit 
him in person to obtain the crown, and again left his wife and her 
mother in the care of a confidant of his, with orders for her death in 
case of his, and for Pheroras his brother to declare himself king. 

Mariamne finding out this second plot against her life, again received 

20 



154 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Herod, on Lis return, with coldness and dislike, which so alienated his 
love for her, as to give the malignant Salome space to compass her ruin. 

Upon Herod's return from Egypt, whither he had followed Augus- 
tus Csesar, Mariamne refused to be reconciled, at the same time 
reproaching Herod with the death of Hyrcanus, Alexander, and Aris- 
tobulus — her grandfather, father, and brother. 

The tyrant was enraged, and, at the solicitations of his own mother 
and sister, he caused his innocent wife to be accused as an adulteress, 
before judges who dared not clear her, and thus secured her con- 
demnation. 

Mariamne was then led forth to execution, and as she passed along 
was taunted by her persecutors ; but with undaunted fortitude, she 
submitted to death, by decapitation, 29 B. C. She was an ornament 
to the nation — religious, and innocent. 

Thus perished the last of the Asmoneans, or Maccabees, from 
Mattathias to Mariamne, the last dynasty of the royal Jews. They 
lived and reigned between the desolation and tyranny of Antiochus 
Epiphanes, and Herod. 

Herod was soon filled with remorse for his wicked proceedings 
against Mariamne. He sought to drown his grief in the intoxicating 
cup, but even in his distracted fits he would call for his murdered 
queen. He never recovered his cheerfulness of mind afterwards. 

Lord Byron thus expresses Herod's grief, in one stanza of his poem 
on the death of Mariamne : 

" She 's gone who shared my diadem ; 

She sunk, with her my joys entombing; 
I swept that floAver from Judah's stem, 

Whose leaves for me alone were blooming; 
And mine 's the guilt, and mine 's the hell, 

This bosom's desolation dooming; 
And I have earn'd those tortures well, 

Which, unconsumed, are still consuming." 

The sceptre was not yet departed from Judah, nor was it to 
depart (Genesis 49 : 10) until Shiloh come. Herod, though not an 
Asmonean, was still a Jew, and Judea was still a kingdom, under its 
own laws, and with its own king. The family of Antipater was now 
upon the throne, with little to fear from the Asmoneans. The scep- 
tre was preparing to depart. Herod was made the stepping-stone 
between the last of the royal Jews and Shiloh, to pass the sceptre 
over to him. 

Herod's next enterprise was to erect stately buildings at Jerusalem 
and elsewhere. But he was decidedly unpopular among the Jews. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 155 

As an example : a party that informed of a plot to poison Herod, was 
torn in pieces in a popular tumult. He, however, took the liberty to 
appoint whom he would to the office of high-priest, and accordingly 
removed Joshua, and appointed in his stead 

Simon IV. — Herod had married Simon's daughter, Mariamne by 
name. His sons Alexander and Aristobulus, by the first Mariamne, 
were sent to Rome for their education — the emperor receiving them 
with great favor, and even assigning them rooms in the palace. 

Herod's next attempt to please the Jews and make himself popu- 
lar, was the repairing, or rebuilding of the temple. It had fallen 
into decay through the commotions of war. He first proposed the 
undertaking at the feast of the Passover, 19 B. C. 

Fears being expressed that if he tore down the present structure 
it might not be rebuilt, he gave assurances not to begin until adequate 
preparations were made. For two years he employed many thousand 
laborers, and the work was begun 17 B. C. 

In a year and a half, the sanctuary was rebuilt from the foundation ; 
in eight years the courts were ready, and the other works continued, 
until it was said by the Jews to Christ, " Forty and six years was 
this temple in building." It was still called the second temple by 
the Jews. 

It was, however, a much more magnificent structure than the one 
built after the return, and on a much larger scale than that of Solo- 
mon. 

The day of the dedication of the temple was on the festival day of 
the king's inauguration. Herod sacrificed three hundred oxen, and 
others did as much as their ability would permit. The king con- 
structed an underground passage from the capitol to the temple, so 
that he might go to and from the temple, safe from any sedition of 
the people against him. 

All the works about the temple were not discontinued until 62 A. D., 
when many thousands were thrown out of employ, which led to the 
wars with the Jews and Romans, brought about, in eight years after, 
the destruction of this splendid edifice. 

In 16 B. C, Herod went to Rome to visit his sons; they accom- 
panied him home to Judea. The youths were popular among the 
Jews, which circumstance excited the fears of those who had been 
instrumental in causing the death of their mother, Mariamne, lest 
they might some day seek revenge. The intrigues set on foot 
resulted in alienating the father and sons, and hence of plans to rob 
them of their succession to the throne of their ancestors. Herod 
finally obtained of Augustus authority to take some measures against 
the sons of Mariamne. A council of Roman governors and tributary 



156 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

kings was assembled at Berytus, before whom Herod accused his 
sons. His complaints were regarded, and power given him by the 
council to take the lives of his sons, if he saw fit so to do. The two 
Asmonean princes were strangled at Sebaste. 

As we now draw near the New Testament history, it may be men- 
tioned that about this time a very general persuasion was abroad, 
among sacred and profane men, that a great personage was to appear 
in Judea. The heathen writers all looked for a temporal monarch ; 
and even Tacitus, a Roman historian, mentions the anticipations of 
the Messiah. 

The Jews were so blinded by the worldly policy they had so long 
adopted, that they fell into the same grovelling explanation of the 
coming of the Just One. 

Josephus, even, writing the history of his nation for the Greeks 
and Romans, speaks of this "great personage," mentioned in their 
sacred books; but, with little of the spirit of Daniel, and much of the 
spirit of a court sycophant, applies all to Vespasian. 

But there were those who were truly waiting for the Consolation 
of Israel ; for, while Zacharias was officiating at the altar of incense, 
the angel Gabriel appeared, and assured him that his wife should 
bear him a son whose name should be John, and who should be the 
forerunner of the Messiah. And as evidence of this, the angel told 
him he should be dumb until the event. When the child was to be 
named, he wrote on a table the name John, and immediately his tongue 
was loosed, and he praised God. The advent of the Saviour was also 
foretold ; so that none need be in doubt upon so important a point. 

We will now continue the history of the Jews, to the destruction 
of Jerusalem, and then return to the birth of Christ, and proceed 
with ecclesiastical history. 

A plot for poisoning Herod being discovered, in which Mariamne 
his wife was accused of having a part, Herod divorced her, deposed 
her father, Simon, from the high priesthood, and appointed in his 
stead 

Mattathias I. — The sceptre had now well-nigh departed from 
Judah, for Herod their king was now almost wholly under the 
power of Rome. He held Judah's sceptre, but with Roman author- 
ity. The end of Judah, as a nation, came in Herod. 

Hence it was in obedience to the decree of Augustus Caesar that 
Joseph went to Bethlehem with Mary his espoused wife, to be 
enrolled for taxation, — a new Roman law, obeyed under the shadow, 
but not the authority, of Judah's sceptre. During this journey, 
Christ the Saviour was born. 

Herod, being impressed with this event, adopted the rash measure 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 157 

of causing all infants about him under two years old to be put to 
death, in order to compass the death of the " King of the Jews." 

Some suppose Herod really thought Christ to be the Messiah, and 
so instituted this bold measure. But it would seem more in keeping 
with another supposition : that he suspected this as a device to bring 
up one of the Asmoneans, by-and-by to sit upon the throne of Israel. 
Any way, it shows his baseness. 

Being now sixty-nine years of age, his end drew nigh. He made 
one more change in the priesthood, deposing Mattathias, and appoint- 
ing, instead, 

Joazar I. — His brother-in-law. Being sick at Jericho, and the 
event of his death being pretty certain, some of the Jews pulled 
down a golden eagle which Herod had caused to be placed over the 
eastern gate of the temple. 

Herod, knowing his end was near, and that his death would be 
hailed with pleasure by the Jews, determined to give them one more 
blow while he could. Hence he summoned the principal Jews to 
attend him at Jericho, where he was, and, on their arrival, had them 
thrust into the circus until his death, when the soldiers were to be 
ordered to massacre them. This horrid design was intrusted to 
Herod's malignant sister Salome, and her husband Alexas, for execu- 
tion ; but, instead of carrying it out, upon Herod's death she released 
them all, and allowed them to return to their homes in peace. 

Thus died Herod, about 3 B. C. His sons who succeeded him in 
office, were children by a Samaritan wife, hence no Jewish blood ; 
and truly the sceptre passed away from Judah, then and forever. 

A contest then arose between Herod's sons, which threw the whole 
country into confusion, as to who should have the throne. This was 
brought to a conclusion by an edict from Rome, confirming Arche- 
laus in Judea; Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Petrea; and 
Batanea, Auranitis, and Trachonitis, to Philip. Archelaus removed 
Joazar from the high priesthood, and appointed his brother, 

Eleazar II. — Who was in turn supplanted, and 

Jesus I. — Son of Siva, appointed in his stead. 

Archelaus obtained the throne by supplanting Antipater, and so, 
as things went then, he was summoned to Rome, where matters ter- 
minated in the dethronement and banishment of Archelaus to Yienne, 
in Gaul, and Judea became a Roman province. 

The sceptre being now gone from the Jews, a semblance of 
authority was still exercised by their council, or Sanhedrim. Of 
this body the high-priest sat as president. This council was the 
supreme court of the Jews, having power to inflict even capital pun- 
ishment. This power it soon lost, and so acted as a kind of senate, 



158 HISTORY OF RELIGION-. 

or mediation between the Jews and the tribunal of Pilate. Hence 
they only held the mock trial of the Saviour ; judged him worthy of 
death, and then denounced him at Pilate's bar, and asked for his cru- 
cifixion by the Roman Government. 

Thus that often persecuted people turn against the Messiah, their 
long expected prophet, and invoke a heathen governor to put him to 
the death of the cross, even when Pilate himself could find no fault 
in him. 

The religious sects of the Jews were chiefly Pharisees, who were 
noted for external observance of the law of Moses and the dogmas of 
their own devising ; the Sadducees, who admitted a divine jorovidenee 
among men, and were extremely severe in the infliction of the law 
upon its violaters, and denied the future existence of the soul; the 
Essenes, a monastic order, deeming the subjection of every natural 
enjoyment the perfection of virtue. 

Numerous other vain conceits of men had an existence at the time, 
showing how likely it was that a true prophet and pure teacher 
would be rejected and put to death for the all-important purpose of 
pleasing the priests and appeasing Csesar. 

An order being issued for a census of persons and property through- 
out the Roman realm, the spirit of the Jews was terribly stirred at 
this last step in their degradation. 

Joazar II. — But Joazar, who reappears in the office of high- 
priest, succeeded in pacifying the moderate Jews into quiet submis- 
sion. But the fiercer Jews found a leader in one Judas, who sought 
rather to inflame than pacify their rage ; when not only the proud, but 
the fierce and foul, rallied around his standard. 

Like the Maccabees, they declared themselves the subjects of God 
alone, as King ; but though the cry was the same, those who made 
it were changed, and other circumstances were so changed that they 
could not rise. 

They made a strong party for some time, but their principal influ- 
ence was felt, in disturbing the harmony between the Jewish people 
and the Roman Government ; and to this party Josephus ascribes 
most of the subsequent insurrections, which finally brought on the 
ruin of the city and temple. 

Quirinius, Prefect of Syria, having disposed of the confiscated 
goods of Archelaus, removed Joazar, who had become unpopular, 
from the priesthood, and 

Axanits, or Annas — Was appointed high-priest in his stead, and 
Quirinius returned to Syria. During Augustus' life the governors 
of Juclea were often changed ; but upon his death, Tiberias Caesar 
pursued a different course — appointing only two during twenty- 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 159 

three years; viz., Valerius Gratus, 15 A. C, and Pontius Pilate, 26 
A. C. 

Gratus did but little of note ; still took great pains to gratify his 
contempt for the Jews, as most tyrants did. His great feat was 
changing the high-priests to suit his fancy. 

Ismael ■ — Son of Tolu, was appointed, and Annas removed. 

Eleazar III. — Son of Annas, was next appointed. 

Simon V. — Son of Camith ; and, lastly, 

Joseph Caiaphas — Son-in-law of Annas. 

Pilate removed the winter-quarters of his troops from Samaria 
to Jerusalem, when the Jews besought him not to display their 
standards, on which were images of the eagle and the emperor. Pi- 
late at first refused to comply, giving as a reason, that it would be 
disrespectful to the emperor ; but finally, as a matter of prudence, 
yielded to their wishes. 

He then seized a part of the treasury of the temple, to build an 
aqueduct to supply the city with water, from a distance of twenty- 
five miles. The populace were offended at this sacrilege, and inter- 
rupted the work; whereupon Pilate ordered his workmen to wear 
long frocks, and carry swords concealed; and with these they made 
great slaughter among the Jews. 

Still, when Jesus Christ was brought before him, he was for releas- 
ing him, " finding no fault in him*" The Jews cried out, " Condemn 
him, or you are not Ccesar 's friend ! '" When he saw that he could 
both please the Jews, and show loyalty to Caesar, he delivered him 
unto them to be crucified. 

The malignant Jews, under the direction of Caiaphas, the high- 
priest, with consent to execute the death penalty from Pilate, under 
the protection of Roman soldiers, and the mob crying, " Crucify 
him ! crucify him ! " had it all their own way. Pilate was, not long 
after, called to Rome and disgraced. 

Vitellius, President of Syria, then visited Jerusalem, conferred 
some favors upon the Jews by releasing them from a tax on the 
sale of the fruits of the earth, and restoring the high-priest's robes, 
which had been kept in the fortress or Antonia, and was now the 
Roman armory, to the depository in the temple. 

He also removed Caiaphas from the high priesthood, and appointed 

Jonathan III. — Son of Annas, in his stead. 

Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, repudiated his wife, and 
married Herodias, his niece, wife of his living brother Philip, for 
which he was reproved by John the Baptist ; and thereby John was 
cast into prison and beheaded. 

His repudiated wife being sister to Aretas, King of Arabia, the 





HISTORY OF 


RELIGION. 








sought 


revenge, 


and 


Herod' 


s army was 


cut off. 


Herod 


in- 


aid of Tiberias 


the 


emperoi 


, when Vitellius was 


again sent 



1G0 



latter 

voked 

with an army to chastise Aretas. 

Vitellius and Herod and his Mends, while the army was moving 
on across the Jordan, went the second time to attend the Passover 
at Jerusalem. He then removed Jonathan from the priesthood, and 
appointed 

Theophilus — His brother, in his stead. 

The accession of Caligula to the emperorship of Rome, gave a 
new start to Agrippa " the Great," son of Aristobulus, one of the 
two sons of Herod the Great, by the second Mariamne. 

Agrippa was at first assisted to means by his sister, the wicked 
Herodias. But in time his favor with the emperor excited her dis- 
pleasure towards her brother, who was rising above her husband. 
Through a regular course of court intrigues, Herod Antipas was 
banished to Lyons in Gaul, and Agrippa made king. 

Agrippa's presence in Rome at the critical moment of Caligula's 
assassination, was of great service. He controlled by his advice the 
senate and army, and encouraged the imbecile Claudius to accept the 
purple. 

His services were amply repaid by the emperor, by the bestow- 
ment of nearly all the territory of the ancient Jews upon Agrippa. 
The edict was registered on a tablet of brass in the capitol, with a 
high eulogium on Agrippa. A treaty was formally concluded be- 
tween the emperor and Agrippa, in the forum at Rome. 

Agrippa returned in great splendor to his kingdom, paid great 
respect to the national religion, and hung in the temple the golden 
chain given him by Caligula, — equal in weight to one of iron 
Agrippa wore while in prison. 

He inherited Herod's taste for building and display ; and to please 
the Jews, put James to death and cast Peter into prison, and such 
little playful acts of a would-be popular sovereign. 

He exercised his power in removing and replacing the high-priests. 
Theophilus was removed, and 

Simon Canthekus — Substituted. ISTot long after, he offered the 
dignity to Jonathan, son of Annas, who declined it. 

Mathias — His brother, was then appointed. Before the close of 
his reign, however, Agrippa appointed 

Elionaeus — Son of Simon Cantherus, high-priest. 

On a set day Agrippa appeared in the theatre clothed with a robe 
of silver, and was greeted with the applause of, " A present god ! " 
He accepted the adulation ; but, like a mortal, he was smitteu with a 
disease in the bowels, which bred worms, and he died. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 161 

Fad us was next sent to be Governor of Judea. He thought the 
high-priest had a trifle too much influence, and undertook to interfere 
a little, when Herod, King of Chalcis, brother of Agrippa, obtained 
the sovereignty over the temple. He removed Cantherus, who had 
gotten again into the office, and appointed 

Joseph I. — During Fadus' term of office, Theudas disturbed the 
country ; but he was taken, his head cut off, and sent to Jerusalem. 

Tiberius Alexander, an apostate Alexandrian Jew, succeeded Fadus. 
He caused James and Simon, sons of Judas the Galilean, to be cruci- 
fied, for disseminating their father's doctrines. 

Herod of Chalcis died about this time, having made one more 
change in the high priesthood. 

Ananias — Son of Nebid ; for Joseph, son of Camith. 

Quadratus,the Prefect of Syria, took occasion, for some disturbances, 
to implicate Ananias, the high-priest, and Annas, the captain of the 
temple, and sent them in chains to Rome. 

Jonathan IV. — Who was next high-priest, under the sway of 
the dissolute Felix, attempted to do the wretch good by exhorting 
him, as Paul did ; but to little effect. Felix rather identified himself 
with the banditti of the land ; and having bribed Doras (an intimate 
friend of Jonathan), and a company of outlaws, at the instigation of 
Felix, they went with Jonathan into the temple, with daggers under 
their cloaks, and mingled with the attendants of the high-priest, and 
in an unsuspecting moment struck him dead. 

King Agrippa, son of Herod Agrippa, being promoted, his influ- 
ence at Rome helped the condition of the Jews a little. 

Ismael II. — Son of Fabi, was appointed high-priest by Agrippa. 
It is probable that the office was filled by Ananias, though irregularly, 
after the assassination of Jonathan. Ananias' release from Rome 
was through the influence of Agrippa. It was this Ananias who 
commanded them to smite Paul on the mouth, while speaking to the 
people. So Paul's cutting reply to him was not so far out of the 
way as they pretended ; for Ananias was only bogus high-priest, and 
his order to smite the prisoner was bogus justice. 

Darkness succeeded darkness ; for, besides the contests without, 
feuds of the worst kind began to break out among the priests, even 
to robbing each other of the tithes, and that by force. 

But the final blow was to be struck in Cesarea, the inhabitants 
being a mixture of Syrian Greeks and Jews. The Jews contended 
that the city was founded by Herod their king, and intended for a 
Jewish ruler ; while the heathen claimed that the temples and statues 
of Herod showed his design for a heathen influence. 

Tumults and bloodshed ensued ; and an order for the soldiery was 

21 



102 HISTORY OF RELIGIOX 



given by Felix, which so exasperated the Jews, that an appeal was 
made to Nero. A decree followed, through the influence of bribes, 
depriving the Jews of equal citizenship. This made the Greeks 
more insulting, and the Jews more exasperated, as time went on. 

Agrippa resided at Jerusalem at this time, in the palace of the 
Asmoneans ; and in order to have an opportunity to view the temple 
courts, and the ceremonies of worship, and lie on his couch at the 
same time (too lazy to go to meeting !), he raised a tower high enough 
to overlook the whole. 

The priests, displeased at this, raised a wall so as to hide the view. 
This resulted in an appeal to Nero, to decide the quarrel. 

Agrippa and Festus agreed to this, when a deputation of ten was 
sent, headed by Ismaei, the high-priest, and Hilkiah, the treasurer 
of the temple. Through the influence of Poppea, wife of Nero, the 
wall was permitted to stand ; but Ismael and Hilkiah were detained 
in Rome. Agrippa seized upon the opportunity to fill the vacant 
office of high-priest, by the appointment of a son of Simon Cantherus. 

Joseph II., — Named Cabi. Soon after he removed Cabi, and put 
in his place the fifth son of a former high-priest, Annas, who, with him- 
self, his five sons, and son-in law Caiaphas, had filled the office. Their 
names were, Annas (the father), Eleazar, Joseph Caiaphas (son-in- 
law), Jonathan, Theophilus, Mathias, and Ananus (sons) ; seven in 
all. 

Axaxus. — Being a Sadducee — and the sect were vindictive in 
spirit and deed — this Ananus put James the Just to death, to please 
the Jews, and also killed others of the Christians at the Passover. 
This, however, displeased Agrippa, and soon he removed him from 
office, 

Jesus — Son of Dammai, succeeding. Festus dying, Albinus suc- 
ceeded him as governor. Ananias the elder contrived to keep the 
governor and high-priest in good pay, and so, by rapacity and vio- 
lence, succeeded in laying up wealth. Agrippa began some public 
work for himself in Cesarea Philippi, and made large outlay, with 
the intention of moving there, which displeased the Jews. 

The removal of the high-priest from his office, and the appoint- 
ment of 

Jesus — Son of Gamaliel, increased the general discontent. Upon 
this, strifes multiplied between the rival priests, and they scrupled 
not to take might for right. 

Upon a petition of the Jews to Agrippa, to expend the surplus 
treasure of the temple (fearing the banditti would get it), Agrippa 
ordered them to use it in paving the city with stone. He afterwards 
removed Jesus, son of Gamaliel, and appointed 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 163 

Mattathias, — The last legitimate high-priest of Jerusalem. 

Fall of Jerusalem. — The time drew near ; Christ, though un- 
heeded by many, had told of the fall, to rise no more, of the devoted 
nation of the Jews. 

Appalling omens began to appear, such as a comet, in shape of a 
sword, that hung over the city for a whole year ; at the feast of un- 
leavened bread, a bright light shone about the altar and temple for 
half an hour ; a cow, while led forth to sacrifice, brought forth a calf; 
the inner gate on the east, made of brass, and so heavy as to require 
twenty men to shut it, bolted into the stone posts with strong iron 
bolts, suddenly opened of itself, and was with difficulty closed ; on 
an evening, just before sunset, chariots and armed squadrons were 
seen encircling the city ; on Pentecost, as the priests entered the 
temple by night on duty, a sound of a host was heard, and a voice 
saying, "Let us depart hence." Josephus attests these things to be 
so, and that they would be incredible had they not been confirmed 
by eye-witnesses, and subsequent events. 

A countryman, son of Ananus, began to cry out in the temple, 
" A voice from the East ! a voice from the West ! a voice from the 
four winds! a voice against Jerusalem and the temple! a voice 
against the bridegrooms and brides ! a voice against the whole peo- 
ple ! " No attempts to silence him were of any avail. He resented 
no insult; thanked nobody for any favor. For four years before 
the war, and particularly on festivals, he continued to cry, " TPoe, 
woe, to Jerusalem ! " At last, during the fatal siege, he cried, 
" Woe, looe, to myself! " when a stone struck him, thrown from a 
balista. 

The cup of Divine wrath, now full, was soon to be upset, and its 
contents poured upon the heads of those whose sins had dictated its 
fulness and fierceness. 

The old feud at Cesarea broke out into a flame of civil war, which 
proved to be a war of extermination to the Jewish people. 

Nero had assigned the magistracy of the city to the Greeks, which 
placed the two parties in direct antagonism. 

The Jews had a synagogue, but the land around it belonged to a 
Greek. The Jews offered a much larger sum for the land than its 
actual worth, but it could not be bought — malice being sweeter than 
gold. In order to annoy the Jews still more, the owner proceeded 
to erect some mean shops close to the synagogue, so as to make the 
passage to and from it as narrow and difficult as possible. The indig- 
nant Jewish youth interrupted the workmen. John, a publican, col- 
lected the large sum of two hundred thousand dollars, and sent it 
to Florus, the governor, as a present, to get' him to interfere and 



164 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

stop the building. He took the money, made fair promises, and then 
left Cesarea for Sebaste, so as to give full scope for the riot. 

On the next day, the Sabbath, as the Jews were crowding to the 
synagogue, some Greeks overset an earthen vessel in the way, and 
made a mock offering of birds upon it. This was intended for an 
insult upon the Jews ; they were accused of being anciently driven 
out of Egypt because they were lepers, and birds were the offering 
for leprosy. This act was a malignant insult. The Jews took it as 
such, and fell upon the Greeks, who were already armed, and took 
this way to provoke a fight. The Jews being worsted, took their 
sacred books and went out of the city, to ISTarbater, seven and a half 
miles distant. 

John the publican, with twelve of the highest rank, went to Flo- 
ras, beseeching him to protect them, and reminding him of the little 
purse he received, when the wretch cast them all into prison. 

The news flew to Jerusalem, and put the city in a panic ; and the 
measures taken after this all turned out to hasten the downfall of the 
Jews. 

Space cannot be afforded to insert in detail the events which now 
follow to the destruction of the city. Contentions among the Jews 
themselves were carried to such an extent, that the wrath of Rome 
was at last excited against them, as a whole. At first their conten- 
tion was with their governor, but at last they were brought to face 
the legions of Rome. 

As soon as the affair came to Nero, he at once despatched Vespa- 
sian, his ablest general, to quell the disturbance in Palestine. Ves- 
pasian sent his son Titus to Alexandria, to put the fifth and tenth 
legions in motion for the seat of war. 

The capture of Jotapata was one of great difficulty to the Romans, 
from its strength, and hence a great point gained. And by no means 
the slightest advantage to Vespasian was the capture of Josephus, 
the intrepid and brave Jewish commander, afterwards a favorite with 
Titus, and still better known as the historian. A minute detail of 
this war is recorded in his history. 

The death of Xero called Vespasian to the chair of empire, when 
the command of the expedition against Jerusalem was put into the 
hands of his son Titus. 

Upon the death, during the siege of Jerusalem, of the high-priests 
Ananus and Jesus, Josephus dates the ruin of the holy city. 

The siege was now pressed. Titus, wishing to save the city, made 
offers of peace repeatedly, but they were rejected by the Jews with 
the utmost contempt. 

Affairs within the city were daily becoming horribly worse and 



HISTOKY OF RELIGIOK 165 

worse. It is stated that one mother killed, cooked, and ate of her 
own child, to save herself from starvation. 

This circumstance coming to the ears of Titus, his indignation and 
horror were excited, and he declared that, " Soon shall the sun never 
more dart his beams on a city where mothers feed on the flesh of 
their children ; and where fathers, no less guilty than themselves, 
choose to drive them to such extremities, rather than lay down their 
arms." 

Titus' wish was to save the temple ; but, while asleep in his tent, 
a soldier, "pushed on by Providence," as Josephus says, climbed 
upon the shoulders of his comrades, and threw a blazing fire-brand 
into one of the apartments that surrounded the sanctuary, and soon 
it was in flames. Then followed the destruction and sacking of the 
city, that horrible scene, the contemplation of which never fails to 
make the heart sicken and relent. 

The number slain is estimated to have been over one million one 
hundred thousand, and ninety-seven thousand taken prisoners. 
Simon, son of Gioras, being the resolute defender of Jerusalem, was at 
last taken ; and thus fell, and forever, the metropolis of the Jewish 
State, at the same season of the year, autumn, that the first temple 
was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar — the latter, 70 A. C. 

What a scourge is war ! And yet God permits it, as a lesser evil 
than wickedly departing from his law, and persisting in such aliena- 
tion. 

From the day in which the Roman general led his triumphant 
legions from Jerusalem, the Jews have been " without a king, with- 
out a prince, and without a sacrifice; without an altar, without an 
ephod, and without divine manifestations." 

All was swept away ; a dispensation which had existed for ages ; a 
nation, as such, blotted from being, which had outlived some of the 
proudest monuments of antiquity. 

The Jews are now dispersed through the world, — despised and 
hated by many, — persecuted, and yet upheld ; lost among the na- 
tions of the earth, and yet distinct, they live as monuments of the 
truth of Christianity, to convey to the world the solemn lesson, that 
a nation cannot reject the Incarnate Son of God with impunity. 

The history of the children of Abraham is ended. 

The Hebrews, or Jews, began in Abraham, and were associated 
together, under the patriarchal discipline, until Joseph ; thence in 
Egyptian bondage until Moses; thence the exodus and settlement 
in Canaan, until Joshua; thence under judges (the Theocracy) until 
Saul, the first king ; thence under their kings, during which time the 
Ten Tribes went off, and were lost, until the Babylonish captivity ; 



1G6 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

in captivity seventy years ; then continued about one hundred and 
forty years under the auspices of Persia; then under Alexander; 
then under Egypt ; then under Syria ; then, independent, under 
the Maccabees ; finally, subject to the Romans, when the sceptre de- 
parted. Though under different governments, they were only in 
allegiance to them, all the time retaining their identity as a civil com- 
munity, until this peculiarity was blotted out by the Roman emperors, 
as God had declared. 



III. 

AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 

EROM CHRIST TO THE PEACE OF RELIGION, 1 5 5 5 A. C. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

Leaving, or rather closing, the history of the Jews, as of any impor- 
tance in the history of Religion, at 70 A. D., we now return to the 
beginning of the gospel of the Son of God, or Ecclesiastical history. 

As heretofore, the names of prominent men, of different times, will 
make our divisions, instead of chapters and verses ; yet a general 
division will be made into periods, for convenience. 

PERIOD I. FEOM JOHN BAPTIST TO THE END 0E THE APOSTOLIC AGE, 4000 A. ¥.., 
AND 4 B. C, TO 4100 A. M., AND 96 A. C. 

John Baptist. — In the fulness of time the Messiah was to ap- 
pear ; and at the time of his coming, many were looking for him, but 
saw him not, because they overlooked him. Many, however, did see 
him, with great joy. 

While Zacharias, a devout priest, was officiating at the altar of in- 
cense, the angel Gabriel, who spoke to Daniel and others, appeared, 
and stood beside the altar. Zacharias was filled with fear at the sight, 
when Gabriel informed him that his wife should soon give birth to 
the herald of the Messiah. Upon asking for proof of this, the angel 
replied, " For not believing my words, this shall be the sign : you 
shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until these things be fulfilled." 

And so it was until the day of the circumcision of the child, when 
the friends proposed to name him for his father. Zacharias objects 
at once, and called for a tablet, and wrote, " His name shall be called 
John," as the angel directed. 

Immediately' after this his tongue was loosened, and he spoke 
again. 

This shows that God had still, in the old Jewish Church, those 
with whom he held counsel. Zacharias' lack of faith about a son 



168 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

being born to him, finds an example in a similar event, in the family 
of the old patriarch Abraham. 

Not far from the same time, Gabriel appeared to Mary, cousin to 
Elizabeth, wife of Zacharias, and informed her that she, although a 
virgin, should be the honored mother of the true Messiah, as pre- 
dicted by the prophet Isaiah ; and that his name should be called 
Jesus. 

John, for his faithfulness in reproving Herod for his unlawful mar- 
riage, lost his head by Herodias. (See also Kilian, and Fredric.) 

Jesus Christ. — "While at Bethlehem, for the purpose of being 
enrolled for taxation, under a decree of Augustus Caesar, Mary is 
delivered of a child, which was called a " Saviour, Christ the Lord." 
Such was the crowded state of the city, that no room could be found 
in the inn, when her accouchement took place in the inn barn, or man- 
ger, 4000 A. M. 

But the announcement of this event by angels, to the shepherds, 
soon brought them, guided by a star, to Bethlehem, where the child 
was ; and soon a stir was made that the Messiah was born. 

When he was brought to Jerusalem, to do to him after the manner 
of the law, old Simeon, a devout man who was waiting for the conso- 
lation of Israel, seeing the child, took him up in his arms and ex- 
claimed : " Lord, let now thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes 
have seen thy salvation ! " At the same time, one Anna, a prophet- 
ess, coming in, concurred with Simeon, that the Great Deliverer had 
come. 

Herod the Great, fearing in him who was called the " King of 
the Jews," a rival on the throne of Judah, issued and executed an 
edict for the destruction of all children under two years old, thinking 
to compass the death of Christ. 

An angel directed Joseph, who took Mary and the child and fled 
into Egypt, until the death of Herod, which took place in a year or 
two after the massacre. 

At twelve years old Christ accompanied his parents to Jerusalem, 
to the feast of the Passover; and on that occasion manifested such 
wisdom as to astonish and confound the Doctors of the Law. 

When about thirty years of age, he began his public ministry. 
As a prelude to this, he sent before him, as his herald, John the Bap- 
tist, son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, to announce his advent as the 
Messiah. 

Upon this John went forth, preaching to the people that they 
should repent and believe on him who was shortly to appear as the 
Saviour of the world. 

Soon he came from Galilee to Jordan, and was baptized of John 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 169 

in the river ; and immediately the heavens were opened, and the 
Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice 
declaring, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

We now find him publicly teaching, and confounding the would-be 
instructors of the people in such a masterly way as to convince all, 
even his opposers, of his divine mission. He healed the sick, un- 
stopped the ears of the deaf, opened blind eyes, and in every possi- 
ble way ministered to the good of the people, by teaching them 
wisdom and healing their diseases. 

As a religious teacher, he confirmed all the moral precepts of the 
Old Testament, and explained and enforced their application to social 
life. 

He assumed to be the Messiah, and to have such connection with 
Divinity, as made the Jews accuse him of blasphemy. He exposed 
the vain and lying teaching of designing men, often reproving the 
Pharisees and Doctors of the Law as false and hypocritical, and in 
such a manner as to make them feel its force. 

His disciples he instructed with the greatest fidelity and tenderness, 
assuring them of the perpetuity of the kingdom which he came to 
set up, and that its subjects were to be the children of the Most 
High God. In order to become subjects of his kingdom, all must 
be made new creatures by repentance and faith. Hence his object 
was to bring man back from his apostasy from God, and thereby be 
fitted to serve and enjoy him here and forever. 

He further taught the abolition of the Mosaic ritual, — declaring 
that Jerusalem, even, should be henceforth no better place than any 
other to worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth ; and as evi- 
dence that these things should be so, both Jerusalem and the temple 
itself were to be destroyed, and not one stone left upon another. 

He also defined the position of his kingdom and people in the 
body politic. They were directed to keep the peace, obey their 
rulers, and submit to wholesome laws ; and illustrated this by paying 
taxes, as the law required ; thus recognizing the propriety and neces- 
sity of civil government. 

At the same time made exception, that the conscience was to be 
reserved for God; and when the laws of the land require what God 
forbids, they are to refrain from obeying such laws. 

This sentiment is couched in his ever memorable words, " Render 
unto Caesar the things that are Csesar's ; but unto God the things 
that are God's." It, however, took, as we shall see, sixteen centuries 
to get that principle adopted in the civil affairs of the world. In the 
event of a clash between Caesar and the conscience, the disciples' 
alternative was, " Fear not those who kill the body, and after that 

22 



170 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

have no more that they can do ; but fear Him who, after death, has 
power over both soul and body : yea, I say unto you, fear him." 

Thus a very pertinent distinction is made between duty to magis- 
trates, and duty to God. 

But neither the sanctity of his life, the wisdom of his teaching, the 
blessings of his miracles, nor even his faultless demeanor, could shield 
the Saviour from the malice of men. Of the twelve persons he chose 
to succeed him, and put his church in due form and operation, one 
of them was bribed to deliver him into the hands of his enemies. 
The signal by which the police were to be guided to the identical 
person, was one of affection : " Whom I shall kiss, that same is he ; 
hold him fast!" And Judas, one of the twelve, drew near, and said, 
" Hail, Master! " and kissed him. Then they laid hold of him. 

Being taken, they led him before the Sanhedrim, Caiaphas being 
high-priest. A court was then held, to get proof of some evil he 
had done. Accusations were brought, but nothing could be proved. 
At last two came forward, and testified that he said he was able to 
destroy the temple of God and build it in three days. 

Making no reply, Caiaphas tauntingly asked him, why he did not 
answer the charge. Jesus making no reply, Caiaphas then asked if 
he were really the Christ, the Son of God. He replied, " Thou hast 
said." Caiaphas took this at once as an affirmative answer, and im- 
mediately seized upon it, and founded upon it a charge of blasphemy, 
and for this he was condemned as worthy of death. 

The Sanhedrim being deprived by the Roman Government of the 
power of inflicting the death penalty, they then took Jesus before 
Pilate, the governor, and asked him to pass the death sentence. 
Pilate demurring, as he could see no ground for such a sentence, a 
tumult was raised at once. Referring the case to Herod Antipas, 
who beheaded John the Baptist, to whose jurisdiction Jesus belonged, 
Pilate and Herod were friends at once ; and as the Jews had accused 
Pilate of being no friend to Csesar if he let Jesus go, he yielded, and 
delivered him up to them, to do with him as they saw fit. In an in- 
stant they set up the cry : " Let his blood be upon us and our chil- 
dren ! " Pilate passed no sentence, yet authorized them to do it, or 
not, as they pleased. 

Immediately they led him away to Calvary, and crucified him be- 
tween two thieves. 

The crucifixion of Christ occurred in the eighteenth year of the 
reign of Tiberius Caesar, A. D. 34. 

After his death and burial, it occurred to the Scribes that Jesus 
Christ had said he was to die, but would rise again. Fearing what 
might happen, they aped a great concern for the welfare of the people, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 171 

and suggested to Pilate the propriety of having a guard set at the 
tomb, lest his disciples steal him away, and then say he was risen. 

As it happened, this very precaution was of the utmost service to 
the world ; for, upon his actual resurrection, they were put to the 
difficult and unwelcome task of covering up the fact. 

Their vain and perfidious attempt to still throw the stain upon his 
disciples, of stealing him while they slept, with his actual appearance 
afterwards among his disciples, put the fact of his resurrection be- 
yond a doubt. 

Having remained with his disciples forty days after this, and in- 
structing them in their future duty, he took leave of them, upon the 
Mount of Olives, and ascended into heaven, A. D. 34, from whence 
he is to come again, at the end of the world. 

Before leaving his disciples, he assured them that an effusion of the 
Holy Ghost should be granted them, to fit them for the great work 
before them and their successors. The fulfilment of this promise 
took place at Pentecost, a feast of the Jews, fifty days after the Pass- 
over. On this occasion, great numbers embraced the faith taught by 
Christ and his apostles. 

APO STLE S. 

Of the history of Christ's twelve apostles, the following is a brief 
summary : 

1. Peter. — He was among the foremost to advocate the doctrines 
and cause of Christ. He charged, in the most vehement manner, 
upon the Jews, the crime of maliciously shedding the innocent blood 
of the Messiah. The civil and ecclesiastical authorities, taking offence 
at him, charged him to desist, which charge he persistently disre- 
garded, telling them he should " obey God rather than men." 

He was a very bold preacher : at Pentecost three thousand were 
converted under his preaching. He was delivered from prison by 
an angel, in answer to the prayers of the church, — having been 
cast into it by Herod Agrippa. He preached in several places in 
Asia Minor, and finally came to Rome, where he suffered death, 
under Nero, — being crucified, head down, about 64 A. D. 

2. Andrew. — He was brother of Peter. He travelled through 
Asia Minor, and along the shores of the Black Sea to Constantinople, 
where he founded a church, ordaining Stachys bishop, whom Paul 
calls his beloved Stachys. 

From thence he travelled into Achaia, to Patras, where he was 
killed for Christ's sake. He was fastened to a cross in the form of 
the letter X, by means of ropes, to make his death more lingering. 



172 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

During two days he preached from the cross, and many believed. 
Hence this form of cross has received the title of Saint Andrew's cross. 

3. James. — He and John are called Sons of Thunder. James 
preached to the Jews ; was apprehended and imprisoned by Herod 
Agrippa, and then slain by the sword ; which so pleased the Jews 
that Herod thought to slay Peter also ; but he was delivered from 
the expectation of the Jews. 

4. John, — The brother of James, with his brother and Peter, 
saw the transfiguration of Christ. He penetrated as far as Parthia 
in Asia, preaching the gospel. After, took up his residence at Ephe- 
sus. During the persecution under Domitian, he was taken to Rome 
and thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, from which he escaped un- 
hurt. He was then banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote 
the Revelation. In the reign of jSTerva he returned to Ephesus, 
where he wrote his Gospel, A. D. 97 or 98. He also wrote three 
Epistles. He died, aged one hundred years, A. D. 100. 

5. Philip. — He preached in Upper Asia and Scythia. On coming 
to Hierapolis, a city of Phrygia, where the people worshipped a huge 
serpent, called Jupiter Ammon, he preached the gospel ; many be- 
lieved, and, as is usual, opposition arose. Such was the fury of the 
wicked, they thrust him into prison, scourged him, and then hanged 
him by the neck to a pillar. 

6. Bartholomew. — He is supposed to be Nathaniel, whom Philip 
sought. He travelled much with Philip. A copy of the Gospel of 
Matthew, in Hebrew, found many years after by Pontianus, a Chris- 
tian philosopher, in Arabia Felix, was called Bartholomew's; left 
there by him when he planted the gospel there. 

He would have suffered at Hierapolis with Philip, at the same 
time (being then bound to a cross), but an earthquake so terrified his 
persecutors that they released him through fear. 

At Albanopolis, in Armenia, the governor of the city apprehended 
him, and condemned him to crucifixion. On his way to execution 
he exhorted the disciples to faithfulness. He was crucified head 
down. 

7. Matthew — Was a tax-gatherer. He preached in Judea for 
several years, and, it is supposed, in other parts. Author of the Gos- 
pel. It is said he suffered martyrdom at Naddabar, a city in Ethiopia. 

8. Thomas — Called also Didymus. He is said to have preached 
the gospel to the Persians, Medes, Carmanians, Hyrcanians, Bactri- 
ans, and other people. 

He then penetrated into the East Indies, as far as Ceylon, or 
Sumatra. At Meliapour he was about building a place of worship, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 17-3 

when the prince of the city forbade it ; after a time, he and many of 
the nobility were converted, and the house was built. 

This so exasperated some of the people, that, while Thomas was one 
day preaching in a solitary place, one of them stabbed him with a 
spear. 

9. James the Less — Brother of Simon and Jude. He was Bishop 
of Jerusalem, and called by Paul a pillar in the church. He was 
killed by a blow from a fuller's club, under Ananias, the high-priest, 
A. D. 62. 

The Epistle of James was written by him. 

10. Simon — It is said, preached in and about Egypt, and finally 
suffered martyrdom in Persia. 

11. Jude. — He was author of the Epistle ; called, also, Thaddeus. 
Is said to have preached in Mesopotamia, Syria, Idumea, and Arabia, 
and suffered martyrdom at Berytus, A. D. 80. 

12. Judas Iscaeiot — "Went to his own place." 

From this account it is clearly seen that the apostles and others 
were true missionaries, having gone over nearly all the missionary 
ground of the different ages since ; and all but one laid down 
their lives for Christ's sake and the gospel's. 

Stephen. — The opposition to the gospel increased, and the 
malignity of the rulers was excited, until, near the close of the year 
A. D. 35, Stephen, a holy man, was called to be the first to follow 
Christ, as a martyr to the gospel. He was stoned to death. 

Saul. — In the year 36, occurred the conversion of Saul, which 
added greatly to the prosperity of Christianity. He was president 
of the mob at the stoning of Stephen. Being instructed in the law 
of the Jews, by the celebrated Doctor Gamaliel, his zeal was even 
greater than his knowledge. He not only espoused the cause of the 
Pharisees, but turned the sword of persecution against the Chris- 
tians. Whilst going from Jerusalem, with authority from the chief- 
priests, to bind and send thither all that were of that way of wor- 
shipping in Damascus, the Lord met him on his way. Saul, being 
overcome by alight exceeding that of the sun, which felled him to the 
ground, he was led to inquire what he should do ; when a voice from 
heaven directed him to go to Damascus, and it would be told him 
what to do. 

Ananias, a Christian man in Damascus, was warned of the Lord 
of the condition of Saul, and assured that he was called to do a 
great work for Christ, but was now awaiting instruction, which 
Ananias must impart. He went and laid his hands on him, calling 
him " Brother Saul." He then told Saul that Jesus, who appeared 
to him on his way, had revealed to him that Saul was a chosen 



174 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

vessel, to bear the gospel to the Gentiles. His eyes were opened (for 
lie was blinded from the time he saw the light until now), and he 
arose immediately and was baptized, as the custom was then. 

Saul (after this he was called Paul) went into Arabia for three 
years, on a missionary tour, when he went up to Jerusalem and of- 
fered himself to the church there. The church, being a little fear- 
ful that all was not right, hesitated about receiving him, until they 
were assured of his conversion and adherence to Christianity, when 
they gladly gave the reformed persecutor the right hand of fellow- 
ship. 

None of the apostles were so eminently successful in spreading 
the gospel as was Paul ; throughout Asia Minor and Greece, he 
labored with great success. Some have even conjectured that he 
preached in Britain. He was finally carried prisoner to Rome, where 
he lived and instructed all who came unto him, and wrote most of 
his epistles. He is supposed to have suffered martyrdom, under 
Nero, about A. D. 64. 

Timothy is said to have been the founder of the church in Alex- 
andria, which makes a very conspicuous figure in the early history 
of Christianity. 

Luke was author of the Gospel by his name, and of the Acts of the 
Apostles. He was a Syrian, and, it is said, was hung on an olive- 
tree in Greece. 

PERSECUTIONS. 

Besides the frequent disturbances, and destruction of the lives, 
peace, and property of the early Christians, there were ten seasons 
of general and terrible persecution. The first was under the Em- 
peror Nero. Such was the rapidity with which the gospel spread 
over the world, that its disciples attracted universal attention, simply 
from their numbers. 

The cause of this persecution was a charge made against the Chris- 
tians, of setting Rome on fire. Hearing of their belief, that the 
world would one day be set on fire, Nero was impatient to see it. 
Having set the city on fire, he went into a tower to view the con- 
flagration, and played on his harp, imagining that the scene resem- 
bled the burning of ancient Troy, and declared he " wished the 
destruction of all things before, his death." To cover the odium of 
this wanton act, he very early laid the crime at the door of Chris- 
tians, as they believed the destruction of the world would be by 
fire. 

In order to make a fair show of the enormity of the crime of 
firing Rome, Nero tenrpered the punishment accordingly. Some 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 175 

were covered with the skins of wild beasts and exposed to be torn 
in pieces by dogs ; others were crucified ; others hung upon a sharp 
stake by the chin, to keep them upright, and then covered with wax 
and other combustibles and set on fire, to serve as lamps in the night. 

Nero offered his garden for the occasion, had a horse-race, and 
was present in the attire of a charioteer. This persecution extended 
as far as Spain. 

No computation can be made of the depth and extent of this 
terrible scourge upon the bosom of Christ's infant church. 

A moment's reflection would have shown Nero that he was him- 
self author of both the fire and the persecution. Such were the 
times and the rulers who domineered over the church. 

The Christian Church escaped for a few years the fire of persecu- 
tion, during which time many labors of love were performed. The 
venerable John of Patmos went about among the distracted churches, 
encouraging and regulating the dejections and disasters resulting 
from the persecution. He was the last of the apostolic veterans 
who set up the true tabernacle of God among men. 

Domitian coming to the throne after Titus, and inheriting the 
brute disposition of Nero, began, in 95 A. D., the second persecution. 

The cause of this was the atheism of the Christians ; i. e., their 
refusal to offer incense to idols ; and, having no altars, idols, nor sac- 
rifices, were considered as having no religion at all, and hence, fit 
only to be put to the sword. Upon the death of Domitian, Nerva 
came to the throne ; being an old man, and inactive, the persecution 
ceased. 

This brings us to the close of the Apostolic Age — a fit point to 
halt and meditate. 

It is astonishing to see the rapidity with which the gospel had 
spread, in the space of one hundred years. Unaided by court favor, 
but rather opposed ; planted and flourished side by side with Juda- 
ism ; ignoring pomp and worldly aggrandizement, and even oppos- 
ing the temple worship, and all kinds of idolatry to which the whole 
world was addicted, both noble and ignoble, sage and fool, officers 
and tools, — in the face of all these it spread itself from Sumatra to 
Britain, from Egypt to Constantinople. Its followers were peace- 
able and mild, in an age of treachery and brute force ; they neither 
had nor sought civil power, and yet were formidable for numbers. 

But when we consider it to be "the Lord's doings, well may it be 
marvellous in our eyes." 

At this point it may be well to throw together a brief synopsis of 
the history and contents of the Bible. All the New Testament was 
written during the first century after Christ. 



176 



HISTORY OF RELIGION, 



The Law was first given on Sinai, on tables of stone prepared by 
Moses, and written by the finger of God. Moses afterwards wrote 
the first five books of the Old Testament. The rest were written 
as records of the nation of the Jews, and predictions of its inspired 
prophets. The canon was completed by Simon the Just, about 
three hundred years B. C, and soon after, the translation of the 
Septuagint occurred. 

These writings formed the Jewish Scriptures. To them Christ 
referred, as containing predictions of himself and his mission ; of 
them he spoke, and from them he taught. 

To these were added the writings of the evangelists and apostles, 
making the New Testament ; both together constitute our Holy 
Bible. 

The Apocrypha is not inspired, but is a valuable historical docu- 
ment, respecting the affairs of the Jews between the Old and New 
Testament times, giving the connection. 

Following is a list of the books of the Bible, their contents, and 
date when written : the Old Testament before Christ, the New 
Testament after Christ. 



BOOKS. 


CONTENTS. DATE B. C. 


Genesis, 


The Cabinet of Antiquities, 


. 1491 


Exodus, . 


The Departure, and Moral Law, 


1491 


Leviticus, 


The Ceremonial Law, 


. 1490 


Numbers, 


Enumeration and Continuation, 


1451 


Deuteronomy, 


Rehearsal and Explanation, 


. 1451 


Joshua, 


The Wars and Settlement, 


1427 


Judges, 


History of the Governors, 


1406 


Ruth, 


The Widow and her Daughters, 


. 1312 


Samuel and Kings, 


History of the Kings, . 


1055, 990 


Chronicles, 


Record of the Times, 


1015, 1004 


Ezra, 


The Restoration of Israel, 


. 457 


Nehemiah, 


The Reformation of Israel, 


434 


Esther, 


The Wonderful Deliverance, 


. 509 


Job, 


The School of Patience, 


Uncertain. 


Psalms, 


The Height of Holy Aspirations, 


u 


Proverbs, 


Ethics, Metaphysics, Politics, 


. 1000 


Ecclesiastes, 


The Vanity of Man, 


975 


Song of Solomon, 




. 1013 


Isaiah, 


The Evangelical Prophet, 


698 


Jeremiah and Lamentations 


, The Devout Mourner, 


. 588 


Ezekiel, 


The Captive Prophet, 


574 


Daniel, 


The Historical Prophet, 


. 534 


Hosea, 


Faith and Repentance, 


740 


Joel, 


Awful Threatenings, 


. 800 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 



177 



BOOKS. 


CONTENTS. DATE — B.C. 


Amos and Obadiah, . . . 


Keen Reproofs, . . 787, 587 


Jonah, 


Disobedience Reproved, . . 862 


Mi cah and Nahum, 


Israel's Sins and Dangers, 750, 713 


Habakkuk, .... 


Comfort for Captives, . . .626 


Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah, 


Preparations for Sad Times, 630, 520, 520 


Malachi, ..... 


The Last of the Prophets, . . 397 


Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 


A. C. 

Life and Sayings of Christ, 38, 65, 63, 97 


Acts, . . . . . 


Establishment of the Church, . 64 


Romans, ..... 


Foundation Doctrines, . . 58 


1st and 2d Corinthians, . • . 


Christian Deportment, . 56, 57 


Galatians, ..... 


Epitome of the Truth, . . 52 


Ephesians, .... 


Cautions and Encouragements, . 61 


Philippians, .... 


Commendations and Rejoicings, 62 


Colossians, .... 


Faith and Manners, . . . 62 


1st Thessalonians, 


Practical Theology, . . 52 


2d Thessalonians, 


Controversial Theology, . . 52 


1st and 2d Timothy, 


Pastoral Theology, . . .64, 65 


Titus, 


Clerical Counsel, ... 64 


Philemon, .... 


The Wanderer Restored, . .62 


Hebrews, • 


The Sacrificial System Illustrated, 63 


James, ..... 


Faith shown by Works, . 61 


1st and 2d Peter, 


Theological Summary, . 64, 65 


1st John, ... 


Heresies kindly Refuted, . 69 


2d John, 


The Christian Matron, . . 69 


3d John, ..... 


The Liberal Christian, . . 69 


Jude, ..... 


False Prophets, .... 70 


Revelation, .... 


Future Things, ... 96 



These books constitute the holy Bible. At first these writings 
were composed like letters. Their first division into chapters and 
verses is attributed to Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, in the last of the twelfth, or first of the thirteenth century. 
Cardinal Hugo divided the Old Testament into chapters, as they 
now stand. In 1661, Athias, a Jew of Amsterdam, divided the 
sections of Hugo into verses, as they now stand. Robert Stephens, 
a French printer, divided the New Testament into verses in 1551, 
as they now stand. 



PERIOD II. FROM APOSTOLIC AGE TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, 4100 A. M. 
AND 96 A. C., TO 4310 A. M., 306 A. C. 



Now follows what is called The Age of the Fathers; or the first 
laborers in the gospel after the apostles. 

23 



178 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Simeon. — No sooner was one pastor cut down at his post, than 
another was ready to fill it. 

The pastorate at Jerusalem was filled by Simeon, upon the death 
of James by Herod Agrippa. 

Upon the death of Nerva, the old man emperor, Trajan came to 
the throne, when the third general persecution was begun, and lasted 
nineteen years. 

The celebrated letter of Pliny, to Trajan, furnishes some excellent 
evidence of the character of the early Christians. 

Nonconformity was the crime laid against the Christians, and for 
which they were persecuted. 

As to Simeon, he was accused to Atticus, the Roman governor. 
He was about one hundred and twenty years old at this time. After 
being scourged several times, without yielding in any degree, his 
persecutors, astonished at his endurance, ordered him to be crucified ; 
and thus ended his days. 

Clemens Romastus — "Was born at Rome, — a fellow laborer of 
Paul ; was bishop of the church at Rome, and distinguished both 
as a minister and defender of the faith. 

Of his writings none remain, except an Epistle to the Corinthian 
Church, which is esteemed next to Holy Writ, as an ancient eccle- 
siastical relic. Clemens died at the advanced age of one hundred 
years. 

Ignatius — Was bishop of the church at Antioch, and in many 
things resembled the apostles. In A. I). 107, Trajan marching 
through there, to the Parthian war, Ignatius, fearing for the safety 
of the church, presented himself to the emperor, offering to suffer in 
their stead. This frankness of the good man exasperated Trajan, 
and he ordered him sent to Rome at once, to be thrown to wild 
beasts, for the amusement of the people. Being hurried forward to 
Selucia, and thence by ship, they stopped at Smyrna. While the 
ship was detained there, he was allowed to visit Polycarp, bishop of 
the Christians there. They had been fellow-disciples of the apostle 
John. The mingled emotions of joy and grief experienced by these 
holy men, can hardly be conceived. 

The intelligence of his arrival and condemnation spread quickly 
through the church, and many flocked to see and console him, and 
catch a few of his parting words. He wrote seven letters to various 
churches, four of which were written at this time, from Smyrna. At 
length the hour of separation came, and Ignatius was torn from his 
friends and hurried to Rome, where he was thrown alive to hungry 
lions; and this for the amusement of the polished (?) Romans! A 
few bones only were left, which the deacons who attended him 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 179 

carefully gathered up, and buried in Antioch. Such were the tender 
mercies of imperial Rome, in its glorious days. 

Symphorosa. — Not pastors only were made to feel Trajan's 
brutality ; but a widowed mother, of the name above, with her seven 
sons, being ordered by him to sacrifice to the heathen deities, re- 
fused. The emperor, enraged at this, ordered her carried to the 
temple of Hercules, where she was scourged, and hung up by the 
hair of her head ; then taken, and a stone tied to her neck, and 
thrown into a river. The sons were tied to seven pillars, and being 
drawn by pulleys until their limbs were dislocated, still were un- 
shaken in their resolution. They were then martyred ; the oldest 
was stabbed in the throat, the second in the breast, the third in 
the heart, the fourth in the navel, the fifth in the back, the sixth 
in the side ; the seventh was sawn asunder. 

The power of the gospel was such, as to enlighten its possessors in 
the midst of the heathen darkness of the times, and enable them to 
endure even to death the reproach of Christ. 

A. D. 117, Trajan died, when a more pacific season for the church 
ensued, under Adrian. 

He listened to appeals in behalf of the Christians ; and his orders 
did much to check persecution in the provinces. 

Quadratus — Was bishop of the church at Athens, and pre- 
sented an apology for the Christians to Adrian, while he was there. 
Aristides, also, a Christian writer of Athens, presented an apology. 

But what most decided him in favor of the Christians, and which 
these apologies had prepared him to receive, was a letter from Sere- 
nus Granianus, Proconsul of Asia, in behalf of the Christians. He 
said, " that it seemed to him unreasonable, that the Christians should 
be put to death, merely to gratify the clamors of the people, without 
trial, and without any crime being proved against them." 

Granianus being shortly after removed, Adrian replied to his 
letter, addressing it to Minutus Fundanus. 

After referring to the letter of Granianus, he takes into grave con- 
sideration the wrong of accusing and punishing innocent persons, 
the great evil which would naturally grow out of such a bad policy, 
and charges Fundanus to take good care that justice be administered, 
and only actual crime punished. 

He closes thus : " But, by Hercules ! if the charge be a mere cal- 
umny, do you estimate the enormity of such a calumny, and punish 
it as it deserves." 

Persecution abated somewhat. 

Justin Martyr, — So called, from being a martyr — was a Greek, 
brought up in and attached to Grecian philosophy. Walking one 



ISO HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

day along the sea-shore, Justin was met by a venerable person, who 
conversed with him upon the claims of Christianity. This led to 
his conversion, 132 A. D., and subsequent usefulness in the church. 

Charges of atheism and impiety, and of being the cause of earth- 
quakes, being made against the Christians in the time of Antoninus 
Pius, Justin wrote his first apology for the Christians, and presented 
it to the emperor, 140 A. D. 

Whereupon Pius wrote to the common council of Asia, to let the 
Christians alone, since it much more concerned the gods, whom they 
refused to worship, to punish them, than for civil magistrates ; that 
the Christians seemed to gain their j:>oint when they gave up their 
lives, rather than violate their faith. He charged the council with 
living in neglect of the worship of the supreme God, and jDersecut- 
ing those who did worship him. 

He renews the sentiments of his " divine father, Adrian," to pun- 
ish those who accuse the Christians, merely as such, and let the 
accused go free. Similar letters were sent to other parts of the 
empire. 

Justin wrote another apology to the Emperor Marcus, and the 
senate of Rome, 166 A. D., which, however, irritated rather than 
appeased. Crescens, a philosopher of abandoned life, whom Justin 
had reproved, accused him in such a manner before the prefect of 
the city, as to procure his imprisonment. Justin, with six others, 
was brought before the prefect, and required to sacrifice to the 
gods ; but upon refusal, Rusticus, the magistrate, sentenced them 
to be scourged and beheaded. On going back to prison, they re- 
joiced in the prospect of martyrdom. 

The sentence being executed, Christian friends took up their 
bodies and buried them. 

Thus fell Justin, a man of distinguished powers, and the first 
man of letters in the church, since the time of Paul. Though he 
continued in the profession of philosophy and letters, still he was 
ardently attached to the gospel : defended it when calumniated, 
and, rather than abandon it, gave up his life for it. 

Polycarp. — This eminent servant of God had been bishop of the 
church in Smyrna about eighty years, and was truly a father in the 
church. He and Ignatius were disciples of the apostle John. 

As the fury of the fourth persecution spread, his friends persuaded 
him to retire to a neighboring village, to escape his enemies. After 
searching for him in vain, some of the church were put to the tor- 
ture, to draw from them the place of his concealment. This being 
made known to him, he could not endure the thought of others 
suffering for him, and voluntarily gave himself up. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 181 

After being permitted to spend two hours in prayer, he was placed 
upon an ass, and brought to the city. Efforts were made when he 
was brought before the proconsul, to induce him to abjure his faith, 
and swear by the fortunes of Caesar. This he peremptorily refused 
to do, when he was threatened with being thrown to wild beasts. 
" Call for them," said he ; " it does not well become us to turn from 
good to evil." 

The proconsul then threatened him with fire, when the populace 
asked that a lion might be let out against him. Surviving this, he 
was then ordered to the flames. After binding him, he prayed aloud ; 
and when he said " amen," the fire was kindled ; but an officer stand- 
ing by, impatient for his death, plunged a sword into his body. 

With such representative men as Polycarp, we may safely infer 
the excellent character of the Christian Church in this age, 166 A. D. 

Ikex^eus — Was a disciple of Polycarp, and bishop of the church 
in Lyons, France. It is not certainly known by what means the 
gospel was first planted in Lyons and Vienna (Pothnias was bishop 
of the church in the latter city), though, doubtless, their commer- 
cial intercourse with the East made it not difficult for missionaries 
to go there. 

Of the many works which issued from the pen of Irenaeus, only 
five are preserved. Escaping the fury of this persecution, which 
was violent in France, he wrote an account of it to the brethren 
in Asia and Phrygia, by which we gain our information respecting 
it. Every cruelty that could be inflicted, by fire, sword, and wild 
beasts, was inflicted upon those guilty of nothing but the faith and 
patience of saints. 

One Blandina, a female, who had been exposed to wild beasts, 
which refused to touch her, was again brought forward, with a youth 
of only fifteen years of age, and after refusing to acknowledge idols, 
they were put to torture of scourging, and the hot iron chair. Ponti- 
cus, the youth, expired. Blandina, surviving, was put into a net and 
exposed to be tossed by a wild bull. Enduring even this for a time, 
she was despatched by a sword, — the spectators even admiring such 
fortitude in a woman. 

What generosity, on the part of Poman upper-tendom, to conde- 
scend to applaud a martyr ] s fortitude 7 

Irenaeus escaped the fourth persecution, but in the fifth he per- 
ished, about 203 A, D. 

A singular respite was allowed the church under the Emperor 
Commodus, in which the gospel flourished greatly, and many of the 
nobility of Rome, with their families, embraced it. The mildness 
of Commodus towards the Christians is attributed to one Marcia, 



182 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

his favorite concubine, who used her influence oyer him to extend 
his favor to the gospel and its disciples. 

Clemens Alexandrinus — Was born at Alexandria, and cele- 
brated for employing his vast learning in defence of Christianity. 
He was long and highly revered in his native city. 

Tertullian. — He was by birth a Carthaginian. He was for- 
merly a heathen lawyer, but afterwards embraced the Christian 
religion ; he, too, possessed great abilities and varied learning, which 
he used vigorously in defence of Christianity. 

It was during the fifth persecution, under Septimus Severus, 
which began in 202 A. D., and spread into France again, and also 
into the African provinces, and especially into Carthage, that Tertul- 
lian was induced to write his apology for the Christians. In that he 
gives a pleasing view of the spirit and behavior of Christians in 
his day, and of their adherence to the faith, order, and discipline of 
still more primitive times. (It was in this persecution Irena3us was 
martyred.) Tertullian is styled one of the ablest Latin writers. 
Being of a melancholy disj>osition, and measurably deficient in judg- 
ment, his standard of principle was somewhat lowered in the latter 
part of his life. 

Origen. — He was born at Alexandria, A. D. 185, and was one of 
the most noted characters in the age in which he lived. In his youth 
he saw his father beheaded for Christianity, and all the family es- 
tate confiscated. 

But the Lord put it into the heart of a rich lady of the city to take 
him under her patronage. He soon acquired great stores of learning. 

He was a very popular instructor, and master of the Alexandrian 
school. At the age of forty-five he was ordained, and delivered 
theological lectures in Palestine. 

Upon being often met with the objection from the Jews, that the 
quotations from the Greek and Latin versions of the Bible did not 
agree with the Hebrew, Origen determined he would arrange them 
all, verse against verse, that they might be easily compared. To do 
this he made six columns, the Hebrew first, Septuagint next, and so 
on, according to their date. The whole filled fifty large volumes. 
It was found, fifty years after his death, in the public library of the 
city of Tyre. It was called Hexapla. 

His great theological blunder was, that Scripture was not to be 
explained in a literal, but an allegorical manner. The hidden or 
figurative sense he often gave, but at the expense of truth. This 
led to many and great errors afterwards, by being adopted, as the 
standard method of interpretation. 

He is said to have been the author of textual sermonizing ; i. e., 



HISTORY OF RELIGION - . 183 

of taking a single text as the subject of a discourse. He suffered mar- 
tyrdom, under Decius, A. D. 254. 

With the exception of three years' persecution under Maxamin, 
the sixth of the ten, the church enjoyed about forty years of great 
repose and freedom from peril. Maxamin vented his wrath upon 
the pastors of the churches, for their suspected friendship to his pre- 
decessor, Alexander Severus. 

Philip was the first Roman emperor who embraced Christianity. 

Towards the middle of the third century is marked as the first 
great and general declension in the church. The repose it had 
enjoyed was more detrimental to its prosperity than persecution ; so 
that, when the seventh persecution, under Decius, broke out, vast 
numbers apostatized; or, "having no root in themselves, endure for 
a while ; but when tribulation and persecution ariseth, because of 
the Word, by-and-by they are offended." 

Eudemon, Bishop of Smyrna (where Polycarp had preached and 
suffered for the truth), apostatized, to the great grief and damage 
of the church there. 

During this persecution the foundation of monkery was laid, by 
one Paul, of Egypt. At the age of fifteen he was left an orphan, 
but entitled to a large estate. His sister's husband, wishing to get 
his estate, took advantage of this time of persecution (as Paul was 
decidedly a Christian) to get his life taken, and so cover his design 
with his zeal for heretical blood. 

Paul, being apprised of this, fled to the deserts of Thebias, to evade 
the storm of persecution ; where, acquiring a love for solitude, he 
remained in seclusion from the age of twenty-three to one hundred 
and thirteen years. From his example sprung the delusion of her- 
mitage : not designed on his part, though indirectly sanctioned, and 
by others directly adopted. 

Cyprian. — He was jH'eeminent, at this age, in preserving the 
church from ruin. 

Cyprian was by birth of family note and of fortune. Bred to the 
bar, liberally educated, and an orator; converted in 246 A. D., he 
then devoted himself and his substance to the cause of Christ. . 

In 248, just before the reign of Decius, he was chosen bishop of 
the church at Carthage. His first effort was to restore the disci- 
pline of the church, which had run down during the declension here- 
tofore referred to. Scarcely had he got under way, when the flames 
of persecution burst upon them in all their fury. Carthage soon 
became the scene of great distress. At the urgent solicitations of 
his friends, in order to save his valuable life, he was induced to 
repair for two years to a retreat they had prepared for him. 



184 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The church at Carthage endured great affliction ; but Cyprian 
continued to send forth letters of encouragement to his distressed 
people. 

During his concealment, the " Novatian Schism " arose, in the 
churches of Carthage and Rome. Novatus, an officer in the church 
at Carthage, had been censured for conduct not worthy his station, 
just before the retirement of Cyprian. Novatus took advantage of 
his absence, and raised a party, who proceeded to the appointment 
of Fortunatus as bishop, to the exclusion of Cyprian. 

Fearing the return of Cyprian, Novatus fled to Rome, where, with 
Novatian, he succeeded in forming a party holding the severest sen- 
timents in reference to those who had apostatized, showing them no 
favor, however sincere their repentance and reform. 

No little part of this was intended for Cyprian. At this time, 
and for some time past, Rome had no bishop, it being considered 
unsafe to appoint one. Being fearful to what the disturbance of 
Novatian might grow, the church thought it best to proceed to the 
election of a bishop, and, with the assistance of the neighboring 
churches, ordained Cornelius to the office. At the same time, Nova- 
tian's party appointed him to the same office. The difference be- 
tween these two prominent churches was, at Carthage discipline was 
too severe, at Rome not severe enough. 

At this juncture, Cyprian returned from exile ; soon after, assem- 
bling his church and deputies from other churches, Fortunatus and 
Novatian were disfellowshipped, as schismatics, and excluded from 
the fellowship of the church in general. 

Fortunatus' party at Carthage soon divided, while the Nova- 
tians, under the name Cathari (signifying pure), continued to exist 
and flourish until the fifth century in most of the provinces where 
the gospel had been received. Novatian sealed his faith by martyr- 
dom, under Valerian. 

Under Gallus a short season of persecution ensued, when Cor- 
nelius was sent into banishment. Lucuis, his successor as Bishop 
of Rome, was also banished, but permitted to return in 252. Shortly 
after, he was put to death, and succeeded in office by Stephen. The 
bishop's chair at Rome, at this time, seems to have stood very near 
the door of martyrdom. 

Cyprian was spared to do many noble deeds for the church, until 
the year 259, while residing near his native city, orders from Valerian 
came to put all ministers to death. Upon this Cyprian was seized 
and led to a spacious plain surrounded with trees. On his arrival he 
laid aside his mantle in great composure, fell upon his knees, and, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 185 

after having worshipped, bound a napkin about his eyes ; his hands 
were tied behind him, and a sword severed his head from his body. 

Sixtus — Bishop of Rome, was the first person of distinction 
who suffered death in the eighth persecution, by Valerian, from 257, 
and lasted three years. 

On his way to execution, Laurentius, his chief deacon, followed 
him, saying, "Whither goest thou, father, without thy son?" To 
which Sixtus replied, " You shall follow me in three days." 

Laueentitts. — A report got into circulation that the church at 
Rome was in possession of great treasure. The prefect of the city 
sent for Laurentius, and ordered him to deliver up the spoils. 

" Give me time to set things in order, and I will render an 
account," said the deacon. 

Three days being allowed, he gathered together all the poor who 
were supported by the church, and going to the prefect, invited him 
to " come and see a court full of golden vessels." 

On seeing these he was filled with wrath, and turning upon Lau- 
rentius, said, " I know you value yourself for contemning death, 
therefore it shall be lingering and painful." He was then stripped, 
and bound to a gridiron, to be broiled alive. 

After broiling some time on one side, he said, " Turn me over, I 
am done enough on that side." Being turned, he said, " I am done 
enough, serve me up." Then lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed for 
the conversion of Rome, and expired. 

The fate of Valerian is a striking instance of the frown of God 
upon those who glut themselves in the blood of the saints. 

Sapor, King of Persia, took him prisoner, detained him for life, 
made him stoop for the king to step on to mount his horse, and at 
last had him flayed alive and rubbed with salt. So death was to 
him " lingering and painful? as well as to Laurentius. 

In Gallienus, who succeeded his father Valerian in A. D. 260, the 
church found a friend. He not only stayed the persecution of his 
father by his imperial edict, but issued letters of license to the 
bishops to return from their dispersion to the care of their respective 
pastoral charges. During another respite of nearly forty years, 
which succeeded the ninth persecution, another decline was visible. 
The third century added but little to the real vital power of Chris- 
tianity ; but, on the other hand, worldlymindedness crept in and 
paralyzed, to a great degree, the apostolic energy of the first and 
second. Nominal Christianity increased, but it was too much of a 
form without the power. 

This repose, however, was only the slumberings of a more fearful 

24 



186 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

outburst of the fire of persecution, preparing to deluge the church 
again in blood. 

The accession of Dioclesian, in 286, opened the way for the tenth 
and last persecution. Associating with himself Maximian, Galerius, 
and Constantius in the government, a term of blood followed ; all 
but the latter are represented as " monsters of horrible ferocity." 
Galerius being brought up a bigoted pagan, imbibed in full that 
spirit; and Dioclesian surrendered himself up, to be guided in those 
matters by that wretched bigot. 

The first blow was struck upon the place of worship in Nicome- 
dia ; the doors were burst open by a party of soldiers, the sacred 
writings burned, the house plundered of its valuables, and then the 
building demolished. 

The day following, edicts were issued by the emperor, depriving 
Christians of all honor and dignity, and dooming them to torture. 

Galerius caused the palace to be set on fire, and, Nero-like, laid it 
to the Christians. Thus imbued with pagan madness, the work of 
death went on with a faithfulness that was carried to an extent that 
decency forbids mentioning. 

Victor, Tarachtjs, Probus, and Andronichtts — Were four emi- 
nent examples, in this persecution, of faith and Christian steadfast- 
ness. The great effort made was to induce them to worship idols 
and abjure their faith. 

Victor, who converted his jailors while being kept by them, was 
brought out, and an altar set up for him to offer incense upon ; but 
when ordered so to do, he stepped forward and kicked over both 
altar and idol. 

Maximian, the Roman emperor, immediately ordered that foot 
cut off, and Victor thrown into a mill to be crushed by the stones. 

The others, after refusing to apostatize, and after wild beasts — to 
which they were exposed — refused to devour them, the heartless 
brute-ermperov caused their heads to be struck off by the sword. 

Many apostatized, as all ages show there will in persecution ; but 
there must have been a vast multitude of the faithful, when we learn 
that throughout the empire the persecution prevailed, except in 
France, where Constantius ruled, and in severity exceeded all that 
had gone before. 

One writer computes, " that not less than seventeen thousand 
Christians were put to death in one month"; and that during the 
persecution in the province of Egypt alone, no less than one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand persons died by the violence of their perse- 
cutors, and five times that number through the fatigues of banish- 
ment, or in the public mines to which they were condemned." By 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 187 

this fire the churches were purged of much dross, but by no means 
destroyed. 

This was the tenth and last general persecution, within two hun- 
dred years, visited upon the churches of Christ by imperial Rome, 
for the offence of calling no man master, in faith, but Christ. 

From the character of their bishops, or ministers, and from the 
vast numbers of Christians in every part of the empire, and the 
nature of the proceedings of their enemies against them, we may 
infer the integrity of their profession and lives. A very striking 
resemblance is found between these and the Apostolic times. 

But the scene now changes. 

PERIOD III. FROM CONSTANTINE TO CLAUDE, OF TURIN, THE FIRST RE- 
FORMER, 4310 A. M., AND 306 A. C, TO 4821 A. M., AND 817 A. C. — A PERIOD 
OF ERRORS. 

The removal of Galerius by death, helped open the way for Con- 
stantine to become sole emperor. 

Galerius, like Herod, died of a disease that bred worms in his 
frame, until even his bones and marrow became a mass of rotten- 
ness and putrefaction. He was conscious of this being sent upon 
him for his persecution of the Christians, and so revoked his edicts 
against them, and solicited their prayers for his own welfare and 
that of the empire : at the same time granting them the freest exer- 
cise of their religion. This important edict was set up at Nicome- 
dia, where the persecution began. 

Maxamin, too, began to relax his severity towards the Christians, 
but not until his cup of iniquity was also full. He was afflicted 
with a terrible disease that no medicine could cure, and the internal 
fever was so great as to make his eyes start from their sockets. He 
took poison to hasten his miserable end. 

Constantine — Being called upon by the Roman people to de- 
liver them from the oppressions of Maxentius, was marching towards 
Rome, in 311, for that purpose, when, it is said (but with some 
doubt), that he saw a cross in the heavens, exceeding bright above 
the sun, and bearing the inscription, " Conquer by this. " 

The expedition, at all events, turned in his favor, and Constantine 
found himself sole emperor of the Roman world, which had not 
been for many years under the entire sway of one man. 

He immediately proceeded to do for Christianity what he doubt- 
less thought the greatest favor it ever received from mortal man, 
but which proved to be otherwise, and was never finally undone 
until the standard of religious liberty was raised in Rhode Island, 
about 1636. 



188 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Christianity zoas now universally established / no other religion 
being tolerated throughout the empire. 

By Constantine's order, the pagan temples were demolished, or 
turned into Christian churches; the priesthood disbanded, and idols 
destroyed ; large and costly places of worship were erected, and old 
ones repaired and enlarged. 

The ministerial office was honored with great favors, and enriched 
with vast endowments ; the form of service had many additions, 
and the habiliments of the clergy were pompous, — so that the 
whole Christian worship had the appearance of worldly display and 
court show. 

At first view, we might conclude that all this favor to Christianity 
must result in its exaltation and glory; soon every knee must bow, 
and every tongue confess to God. The whole royal power of Rome 
in its favor, who can be against it to any advantage ? But, alas ! it 
has proved that religion, nursed by the world, corrupts its very 
breath. 

While the lamp of religion was trimmed by the sword of perse- 
cution, it gave its light ; but when its oil became consumed, its light 
was darkness. Formerly, there had been too much opposition from 
court ; now, there was too much favor. 

The ostentation introduced into Christian worship, the emolu- 
ments bestowed upon the clergy, destroyed the humility, self-denial, 
and brotherly kindness so peculiar to true Christianity. 

The government of the church was soon modelled after the form 
of that of the state. The emperor assumed the title of bishop, and 
claimed for himself and successors the right to regulate its internal 
affairs ; and hence at the councils the emperor must preside, and, 
finally, determine all matters of dispute. 

The assumption of power to enforce obedience to one form, and 
prohibit the exercise of another form of worship, are equally false 
positions for the civil magistrate. Hence while Constantine intended 
the greatest possible good, he actually made just as great a blunder 
as a man could make. 

Doxatus. — A controversy arose, about this time, called the Do- 
natist, from the above man. According to some, it arose on the 
question, whether those who gave up their sacred books, during the 
tenth persecution, should be received again to communion. Donatus 
and his friends, thinking they should not, found fault with Mensurius, 
Bir-hop of Carthage, on this point, and refused to hold communion 
with him. 

Others find the more immediate cause of this rupture in the 
election of Csecilian as Bishop of Carthage, the neighboring bishops 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 189 

only being invited to assist and sanction the appointment. This 
offended Brotus and Celesius, both presbyters of the same church, and 
both aspirants to the bishopric, and also the Numidian bishops, who 
had always before been invited to the ordination of the Bishop of 
Carthage. 

These discontented ones called another council, and Csecilian was 
deposed by them, and Majorinus appointed. This divided the church 
at Carthage, each division adhering to its bishop. It also divided 
most of the churches throughout the country, so that in many of the 
cities there were two parties, — one for Caecilian, as the bishop 
chosen by the church, the other favoring Majorinus. 

At length the Donatists laid their cause before Constantine. He 
became impatient, and banished some, and put some to death who 
were refractory. He had, in 313, with several bishops, examined 
the subject, and decided in favor of Cascilian. In a second and 
much more numerous council, in 314, the same result was declared. 

Upon this the Donatists appealed directly to the emperor, when 
he confirmed the decision of the two councils. Hence his resort to 
severity, as above, but with little effect. 

Here is the danger of having an emperor-bishop in the church, 
or in the churches. But more mischief grows out of it. 

Under Constans a battle was fought at Bagnia, when the Donatists 
were defeated, which weakened their cause : the first battle after 
the union of church and state, and which grew out of that unholy 
alliance. A variety of fortunes ensued under the different emperors, 
until Augustine took the pen against the Donatists, which hastened 
their decline and fall. 

Not long after that of the Donatists, arose, also, the "Arian 
controversy." This originated in the church at Alexandria. Arius, 
a presbyter in the church, disputed with Alexander, the bishop, about 
the Sonship of Christ; affirming that there was a time when Christ 
was not ; that he was capable of virtue and vice, and mutable, as 
other creatures. 

Not being able to reclaim Arius, and being alarmed for the truth, 
Alexander invited about one hundred bishops to sit in council on 
the matter ; when Arius was deposed and excommunicated. 

Retiring to Palestine, he wrote letters, and succeeded in gaining 
to his cause the Bishop of Nicomedia, and other men of distinction, 
influence, and authority in the church. 

Constantine, finding Alexander and Arius were getting farther 
apart, summoned the bishops of the several provinces of the 
empire to meet at Nice, in Bithynia, 325 A. D. In this council 



190 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

of three hundred and eighteen bishops, a multitude of presbyters 
deacons, and others, the emperor himself presided. Grand spectacle ! 

After a session of two months, Arius was deposed and excommu- 
nicated ; and at the same time was adopted the " Nicene Creed." 

Here is the first ecclesiastical congress, and the first promulgation 
of human devices to guide men to an understanding of the Bible. 
This is only the first of many, however. 

The creed above was ordered to be subscribed by all, upon pain 
of banishment. State power in church matters. Woe, woe, woe ! 

In addition to the above, it was decreed that Easter should be 
kept in all the churches on the same day; that celibacy was a virtue; 
new converts should not be introduced to orders ; a certain course 
of penitence should be enjoined upon the lapsed, etc. A good 
foundation was here laid for the traditions of men to be exalted to 
the level of Scripture. 

Constantine was prevailed upon, finally, to recall Arius from ban- 
ishment, repeal the edicts against him and his followers, and even 
favored his cause ; so much so as to require Athanasius, Bishop of 
Alexandria (successor of Alexander), to receive him to commun- 
ion. Athanasius refusing, the emperor banished him to Gaul. 

Arius pretended to subscribe to the Nicene creed, whereupon the 
emperor ordered Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople, to receive him 
to communion. Alexander betook himself to prayer, that God 
would prevent such a man from returning to the church, who was 
only a disturber of its peace, and hypocritical in his profession. 

The day was fixed for his restoration ; but, while on his way to 
the church, Arius was seized with a terrible disease of the bowels, 
and died 330 A. D. 

Constantine died 337, not having received baptism until during 
his last sickness, and then at the hands of his favorite bishop, 
Eusebius, of Nicomedia. 

The order of things Constantine introduced fostered rivalry 
among the bishops. Those of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, had 
been promoted to a kind of superiority over all others ; but to these 
he also added Constantinople. These four cities were erected into 
"Metropolitan" bishoprics, and hence how easy to give names to 
other places and ministers. The bishops of these cities soon be- 
came patriarchs, and so the distinctions pontiff, patriarch, metropol- 
itan, archbishop and bishop, were soon made. From this platform, 
how easy to shape it around, until some one of the bishops is 
exalted to be chief over all ! 

Lactantius. — He was an African by birth ; gained an early and 
groat reputation in rhetoric; so much so, that Constantine appointed 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 191 

him tutor to his son Crispus. He was styled the "Christian 
Cicero," on account of his attainments as a writer and speaker. 
His "Divine Institutions," composed in defence of Christianity, 
about 320, are all of his works that have reached us. 

Eusebius — Was born in Palestine 267, educated there, and elected 
Bishop of Caesarea 313. He bore considerable part in the Arian con- 
troversy, which at first he defended, thinking Arius was misused. 

Eusebius was honored with special marks of Constantine's favor, 
being frequently invited to his table, and often receiving letters 
from the emperor. He was the emperor's favorite bishop. Among 
other works, he wrote an ecclesiastical history, from Christ to Licinius, 
323 ; also, a life of Constantine. 

Athanasius. — He was of heathen parentage, but was taken at 
an early age, by Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, and educated by 
him, and appointed deacon. Alexander took him along to the 
Council of Nice, when he showed himself an able disputant against 
Arianism. Upon the death of Alexander, he was appointed bishop 
of the church, at twenty-eight years of age. After Arius' recanta- 
tion, Athanasius was required by the emperor to readmit him to 
communion ; but resolutely refusing, he was banished into France. 

Thus the bishops had fallen into the hands of the emperor. 

He was recalled, and again exiled ; but died in 373, having been 
bishop forty-six years. 

Anthony is considered the leader of the monastic orders, which 
sprang up in the fourth century. Retiring into solitude, for greater 
sanctity of life, was by him, and many who imitated his example, 
considered the climax of piety. 

Females, catching the enthusiasm, devoted themselves to the 
same austere life, but soon collected into groups ; and thus nunneries 
had their origin. 

It has now become customary, not to say necessary, to locate 
monks and nuns nearer together than formerly. 

St. Simeon, a Syrian monk, took his post on top of a pillar, and 
only changed his place to occupy others, which he did four times. 
On the last, which was sixty feet high, and only three feet broad on 
top, so that he could not lie down, he remained standing fifteen 
years, without intermission, day and night, summer and winter. 
He remained in meditation from morning till three in the afternoon, 
when he harangued the people, who flocked from all parts to hear 
him, until sundown. 

Athanasius is said to have encouraged monkery. Basil called it 
an angelic institution. Jerome declares the monks and nuns to be 
the very flowers among all the ornaments of the church. 



192 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The prayers of these saints (?) became worth paying money for, 
and so it flourished. 

Benedict thought a little more order was needed, and hence arose 
the Benedictine monks of the sixth century. In the eighth and 
ninth centuries, the monks rose to the highest eminence. In the 
tenth, arose the contemptible order of the congregation of Clugni. 
In the eleventh and twelfth, flourished the Cisterians, and Carthu- 
sians. In the thirteenth, arose the Mendicants, instituted by Inno- 
cent III. They contemned wealth, and lived upon charity ; they 
became very popular. From them arose four orders, under the aus- 
pices of Gregory : the Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and 
Hermits of St. Augustine. 

Taking the origin of this system, being purely of men, and not 
all pure men either, and the baneful influence it has exerted upon 
the world, every intelligent man, and Christian especially, will 
place the whole scheme of monkhood very low in the scale of 
importance. It is not a popish invention / still of very impure birth 
and life. 

Constantius, third son of Constantine, becoming sole emperor, 
through his favor Arianism had the ascendency during his reign. 
The Scriptures had now ceased to be the standard of faith ; and 
whatever was received as orthodox or heterodox, was determined by 
fathers and councils. The bishops had departed from the simplicity 
of the gospel; and avarice, ambition, temporal grandeur, high prefer* 
ment, and large revenues, were the ruling passions. Two parties 
existed now, Orthodox, and Arians; and either party that could 
get the ascendency threatened the other with intolerance and even 
persecution. Hence the condition of the church was no better 
under its professed Christian emperors than under paganism, since 
the sword was again taken up to afflict any of an opposite faith to 
those in power, or any not in favor of the civil power. 

Another hideous feature of state religion was brought out on the 
accession of Julian, the apostate. Constantine was orthodox, and 
persecuted the Arians and pagans. Constantius was an Arian, and 
persecuted the orthodox and pagans. By Julian (called the apos- 
tate, as he returned to paganism), the rights and privileges of the 
pagans were restored, and those of the Christians suspended. How 
uncertain and corrupt is the course of state religion ! 

By way of reproach, Julian called the Saviour the Galilean. In 
a war with the Persians, being mortally wounded by a lance, he 
caught a handful of his blood, and throwing it indignantly into the 
air, exclaimed, " O Galilean ! thou hast conquered." 

It was during his reign that an attempt was made to rebuild 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 193 

Jerusalem, but the work was broken up and abandoned, by fire 
bursting out of the ground. So God stopped the mad design. 

Basil — Is counted one of the lights of this age. He was born 
in Csesarea, in Cappadocia, 226. After studying at Antioch, Con- 
stantinople, and Athens, he was converted to Christianity. Upon 
the death of Eusebius, he was chosen bishop in his stead, 370. He 
suffered much opposition from the Arians. ' He was greatly beloved 
by his people, who bewailed his death. He died after uttering 
these his last words : " Into thy hands I commit my spirit." 

Hilary — Was a native of Poictiers, France. In 355, he was 
made bishop of his native town. He was distinguished for his 
attachment to the gospel in its simplicity, and was a man of pene- 
tration and genius. He openly arrayed himself against the Arians. 
Through their influence, however, with Constantino, he was ban- 
ished to Phrygia, where he wrote twelve books on the Trinity. 
Being afterwards restored, it is said that France was freed from 
Arianism by Hilary alone. He died 367. 

Ambrose — Was born in Gaul, 333. Being appointed governor 
of several provinces, he settled at Milan. In 374, the bishop of 
that place dying, a contest arose between the Orthodox and Arians 
about a successor. As governor, he interposed to keep the peace ; 
and while addressing the people, they cried out with one voice, 
" Let Ambrose be bishop ! " 

It will be observed that the power of appointing bishops in prim- 
itive times lay wholly in the breasts of the individual churches, and 
each bishop presided in his own church and no more. 

Upon this he yielded to the wishes of the people ; was baptized, 
and ordained bishop of Milan. He died in 397, leaving several 
works of merit on religious subjects. The hymn"TeDeum" is 
ascribed to him. 

About the middle of the fourth century is marked as the time of 
the rise and increase of the power and influence of the bishop of the 
church at Rome. This was manifest in the splendor of his church, 
his revenues, his attendants or ministers, credit with the people, and 
sumptuous style of living. This led Praetextatus, a heathen magis- 
trate of the city, to say : " Make me Bishop of Rome, and I '11 be a 
Christian too ! " 

In 363, Jovian came to the throne, when Orthodoxy again tri- 
umphed, and Arianism and Paganism fell back. In 375, Yalens was 
emperor, and he favored Arianism again, and persecuted the ortho- 
dox. A company of eighty ecclesiastics, who refused to embrace 
the Arian faith, being ordered into banishment, Valens caused them 

25 



194 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

to be put on board a ship, and when out of the harbor, it was set 
on fire. Such was the tender mercy of an eniperor-bishop. 

In 378, Gratian and Theodosius were associates in the government. 
They changed the state religion again, when orthodoxy was sup- 
ported, and the other two rejected. 

Like Constantine, Theodosius called a council in 383, consisting 
of nearly two hundred bishops, which met at Constantinople. This 
council ordered that the Nicene creed should be the standard of 
orthodoxy, and that all heresies should be condemned. 

Soon after two edicts were issued by the emperor, in both of 
which all meetings, whether public or private, were forbidden to 
heretics (i. e., Arians). 

In 390, he issued another against paganism, designed for, and it 
proved, the death-blow to it ; for it fell to rise no more. 

Christianity (?) was again established by law. 

Jerome — Is reckoned as one of the Fathers of the fourth cen- 
tury. He was born of Christian parents, and his father took the 
greatest possible care of his education. Being placed at Rome, he 
had masters in rhetoric, Hebrew, and divinity, who instructed him 
in all parts of learning, sacred and profane. He then spent a while 
in travel, went as far as Syria, and then returned to Rome. Having 
retired to a desert, he spent four years in devotion, study of the 
Oriental languages, and of the Scriptures, which he is said to have 
committed to memory. He was inclined to monasticism ; his prin- 
cipal work was the translation of the Bible into Latin. 

Augustine. — This name adorns the pages of Christianity. His 
mother was a woman of distinguished piety and virtue. His father 
designed him for some of the learned professions, and early sent 
him to school. But having no taste for study, he wasted his time 
in gaming and idleness, hiding his indolence with false stories. 

His father next sent him to Carthage, where he acquired a taste 
for rhetoric ; and returning to his native place, gave lectures upon 
the subject. But he was still irreligious, and even a heretic. 

He, however, was determined to visit Rome; but on his way 
called at Milan, and attended the preaching of Ambrose. His ser- 
mons made a deep impression upon Augustine's mind, and induced 
him to espouse the cause of the orthodox party, 384. He was 
shortly after converted, and became one of the most sincere and ar- 
dent Christians of his time. He was chosen Bishop of Hippo in 391. 

From this time he set himself for the defence of the gospel. 
From his writings a body of theology was composed, which served 
for centuries as a guide to those who desired to escape the errors 
of the times, and abide in the truth. He died 430, aged 76. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 195 

John Chrysostom. — He was born, of a noble family, at Antioch, 
about 354. His education was entrusted to the care of his mother, 
who attended to it strictly; and while quite young he inclined 
towards Christianity. He became contaminated with the rnonasti- 
cism of the times, and so spent six years of his life in seclusion, at 
the end of which he returned to Antioch. 

His reputation, sometime after, opened the way for him to be 
appointed Bishop of Constantinople. He immediately began to 
reform things in the church, which gave offence to both the laity 
and clergy of the times, particularly the most wealthy part, through 
whose influence Chrysostom was seized, by order of the emperor, 
and exiled to a port on the Black Sea. But such a tumult ensued, 
that the emperor deemed it prudent to recall him. 

No sooner was he released than he showed his apostolic zeal, and 
redoubled his efforts to root out corruption. His enemies redoubled 
their zeal also, and implored the emperor to banish him to Cauca- 
sus, in Armenia ; but, not satisfied with that, he was sent still fur- 
ther to Pictyus, on the Black Sea. On his way, however, to the 
latter place, from fatigue in travelling, and abuse from the soldiers, 
he fell into into a violent fever, and died 407, A. D. 

Chrysostom ranks amongst the ablest preachers, of which Chris- 
tianity has had many. With great strength of mind, a lively imagi- 
nation, fine powers of elocution, an able commentator, and consti- 
tutionally ardent, he was a man of influence and reputation. A 
marked man among the corrupt and designing, and hence met with 
bitter persecution, which brought him to his grave. 

Let it be observed that the union of church and state, by Con- 
stantino, created a transition movement in the church. By the 
emperor's putting himself at the head of the clergy, and using his 
power to help them, the tendency at once was, to substitute one of 
their own class, clergy, in the place of the emperor, but still hold 
both ecclesiastical and civil dominion. Hence we may look for the 
emperor-bishop to be transformed into a bishop-emperor. This pro- 
cess is at work. 

In the breaking up of the Roman Empire, west, by the northern 
nations, about this time, they generally agreed to support, as the 
state religion, that form they found in pompous blast at Rome. 

They, however, generally adopted the Arian system, and hence 
the advocates of the Nicene creed met with bitter persecution. The 
established form of religion was a form without the power; and yet 
the northern idolaters abandoned their own superstitions, and em- 
braced those of the conquered. There were those who, in spite of 
the general corruption, maintained the purity and simplicity of the 



19G HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

gospel; and through, these alone can we trace the life and continu- 
ance of true Christianity until the Reformation, which, however, 
was yet a thousand years ahead. 

Patrick. — Efforts had been made to introduce Christianity into 
Ireland, by Caslestius, Bishop of Rome, who sent Palladius there for 
that purpose, but with small success. 

Patrick, a Scot, and one of the bishops of Scotland, being taken 
prisoner of war, and carried to Ireland, devoted himself, with great 
zeal, to the conversion of the people. Like Paul, he turned his cap- 
ture to the conversion of his keepers. His influence long survived 
him in Armagh. He died in 460. 

Clovis, — A king of the Franks, is said to have been converted 
about 496. His wife, Clotilda, was a Burgundian, of a people who had 
received Christianity ; and she had labored without success to con- 
vert her husband. Although the Burgundians were Arians, Clotilda 
adopted the Mcene creed. It is said while Clovis was engaged in 
a battle with the Alemans, finding the Franks giving ground, and 
the foe advancing, he implored the assistance of Christ, and sol- 
emnly engaged to worship him as God, if he would give him vic- 
tory. Clovis was conqueror ; and the following year, after being 
instructed in Christianity, he, with three thousand of his soldiers, 
was baptized at Rheims, 495, A. C. The credit this affair deserves 
stands upon the same platform of ConStantine's vision of the cross ; 
yet his espousal of religion was a great comfort to those professing 
the Nicene creed. 

From this conversion of Clovis originated the title of "Most 
Christian Majesty," usually applied to the kings of France. 

Gregory. — Christianity was introduced into Britain in the 
times of the apostles. But, at this time, almost all traces of it 
were obliterated by the reigning idolatry. The people paid their 
homage to such gods as the Sun, Moon, Thuth, Odin, Thor, Frigga, 
and Surtur, from which the English derive the names of the days 
of the week. Still, with the prevailing idolatry, there were many 
who adhered to the simplicity of the gospel. 

But the circumstance which most favored the introduction and 
spread in England of the then prevailing form of Christianity, was 
the marriage of Ethelbert, King of Kent, to Bertha, a pious descen- 
dant of the house of Clovis. She, like Clotilda, wife of Clovis, 
labored hard, and prevailed at last, in bringing her husband to 
embrace the gospel. 

Before Gregory was chosen bishop of the church at Rome, he 
was one day walking in the market-place, and seeing several youth 
of handsome appearance exposed for sale, he inquired whence they 



HISTORY OF RELIGION.' 197 

were? On being informed that they were pagans from Britain, his 
compassion for them was stirred, upon which he offered himself to 
the bishop, to go as missionary to the island. His proposition not 
being accepted, he abandoned the project for the time. 

But no sooner was he choSen bishop, than he renewed his pur- 
pose respecting Britain. In the year 597, he sent Augustine, with 
forty assistants, to go and preach the gospel in England. It was at 
this point that the royal patronage of Queen Bertha was of such 
great service. She, knowing the nature of Christianity, prevailed 
upon the king to allow the missionaries to enter the country and 
preach. 

It is to be regretted that the form of Christianity was of the 
pompous and domineering kind. Not long after, Gregory was 
under the necessity of checking the ambition of Augustine, who 
not only sought to be elevated above all the clergy of the island, 
but threatened, and even inflicted, some chastisements upon the 
people for not yielding to him. 

But a still graver subject turned the attention of Gregory home- 
ward. The rivalry among the metropolitan bishops had become 
narrowed down chiefly between those of Rome and Constantinople. 
A crisis was approaching ; one or other of these two must ere long 
become first. The level existing among the bishops of the N. T. 
must now yield to, " Who shall be greatest?" 

As early as 588, John, Bishop of Constantinople, had assumed 
the title (so bewitching had its contemplation become) of Universal 
Bishop. His successor assumed the same proud name. Gregory the 
Great, being contemporaneous with John's successor, took great 
umbrage at the boldness of the Bishop of Constantinople for as- 
suming a title that, by precedence, belonged to the Bishop of 
Rome ; though Gregory's conscience would not permit him to take 
it himself. But Gregory was relieved of all his troubles by death, 
in 604. 

Boniface III., — The successor of Gregory, had less conscience 
than he had, and was not only willing to receive the great title, but 
coveted it, and even asked it of the emperor, with the privilege of 
transmitting it to his successors. 

The profligate emperor Phocas, in order to gratify the inordinate 
ambition of this court sycophant, deprived the Bishop of Constan- 
tinople of the title, and conferred it upon Boniface, at the same 
time declaring the church at Rome to be the head of all other 
churches. 

Boniface III. thus became Universal Bishop, and the church at 



198 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Rome the Head Church of Christendom. (?) Here, then, is the first 
Papa, or Pope. 

This Universal Headship in the church and its bishop at Rome, 
is the direct and legitimate result of union of church and state by 
Constantine. As he was head of the state, so naturally, and of con- 
sequence, a head of the bishops must accrue. An emperor at 
Pome, with governors throughout the provinces and empire, must 
be imitated by a universal bishop at Pome, over all the bishops 
throughout the world ! Now let this bishop have temporal power, 
and we have church and state — Constantine's state and church — 
inverted ; with a bishop-emperor, instead of an emperor-bishop. 
And, when either or both degenerate so far as to use their power to 
persecute for conscience' sake, what are they better than Nero the 
joagan ? 

Whilst we can easily trace the growth of this gigantic state- 
church, through a few succeeding centuries, to its zenith and de- 
cline, we shall also be obliged to follow the true spirit of Chris- 
tianity into the mountains, dens, and caves of the earth, until its 
triumphant rise to victory, as Constantine's church loses power and 
recedes before the glorious Reformation. 

The ignorance, superstition, and corruption of the times, were 
favorable circumstances for the growth and popularity of prelatical 
assumption. 

The corresponding means, used to the same end, were, preference 
given to human composition over the Bible, efforts to convert the 
heathen, introduction of the worship of images, cooperation with 
monkery, veneration for the relics of saints, absolution and indul- 
gences, j^urgatory, and the Inquisition. The object of the abettors 
of this system was absolute sway, and they well-nigh attained it. 

The year 609 is given for the rise of the Mohammedan imposture. 
Mohammed was a descendant of the princes of Mecca. His father's 
name was Abdallah. At the age of twenty, he entered the army 
under command of his uncle, and gained considerable notoriety as 
a soldier. 

At the age of twenty-five, he engaged in the service of Cadijah, 
a rich widow of the nobility of Mecca. After spending three years 
in Damascus, and about one in Syria, as her agent, to her entire sat- 
isfaction, she rewarded him for his fidelity, with the gift of her hand 
and fortune. This gave him a standing. 

In announcing his religion to the world, he claimed for himself 
to be a prophet of God. In order to conciliate the Jews and Chris- 
tians, he acknowledged Moses and Christ to be prophets, but him- 
self to be above them both. Setting aside the Scriptures, he 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 199 

claimed a special revelation from God, which, by the assistance 
of an angel, he embodied in the " Koran," the Bible of the 
Mohammedans. 

The religion of Mohammed consisted of faith and practice. The 
items of faith are : Belief in God, in his angels, in the Koran, in 
his prophets, in resurrection and final judgment, and in God's abso- 
lute decrees. The practice consists of prayer, with washings, alms, 
fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca, and circumcision. With this faith, he 
ventured before the world. 

For a time success lingered. At length, however, he began to 
rally, and an opportunity presenting itself to unite the civil power 
to his religion (like Constantine), Mohammed added the sword to 
the crescent, and then, like the j^ower represented by the sword and 
the cross, hastened to conquest. 

The fates and fortunes of ambition followed Mohammedanism 
through wars extending into France, Spain, Italy, Persia, and 
Asia ; until the Turks, finally, with an army of thirty thousand 
troops under Mohammed II., during the reign of Constantine XIL, 
took Constantinople, putting an end to the Eastern Roman Empire, 
and making that city the capital of the Mohammedan power, in 
1453, and so remains to the present day. 

A very striking and truthful instance of the tendency of the 
union of church and state, resulting in intolerance and tyranny. 

The seventh century presents a great contrast between the East 
and the West. In the East, ambition flourished, while the true 
spirit of the gospel was hardly to be seen, except as discovered 
here and there among the humble, and now and then a faithful and 
fearless bishop ; and these had each but little influence beyond his 
own immediate parish. 

The most was done in this century for true religion in England, 
France, Germany, Denmark, and vicinity. It is recorded, that in 
this century, a glorious eflusion of the Spirit was enjoyed in Eng- 
land, so that great numbers turned from idols to the living God. 
Many who were inclined to favor a superintending power at Rome 
(not dreaming of a hierarchy), labored in all simplicity and faith- 
fulness in the cause of evangelical religion. Such was their success 
that the British King Edwin, with all his nobles, and many of his 
subjects, were baptized, and so openly avowed their adherence to 
vital Christianity. Even among the monks, who were increased 
and increasing at the time, there were some godly and earnest men 
in the faith of the gospel. Among them was Paulinus, who preached 
in Lincolnshire, where the governor and all his house were con- 
verted through his preaching. Many instances of the kind are on 



200 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

record, showing the existence of evangelical labor and faith, in spite 
of the growing and absorbing tendency of Constantinianism. 

True to itself, this revival of religion stirred up a missionary 
spirit in the subjects of grace. 

Many, in companies and single-handed, went over to the conti- 
nent, to spread the truth in Friezeland, and about in the north of 
Europe. 

Kilian — an Irish missionary, received a commission from the 
Bishop of Rome to preach ; he came to Wurtsburg on the Maine, 
where the pagan duke, Gosbert, was governor. The duke received, 
the gospel, and was baptized, many following his example. But, like 
Herod, he had married his brother's wife. Kilian deferred admoni- 
tion on this point, until the duke appeared settled in the faith ; when, 
like John the Baptist, he reproved him for the connection. Gosbert 
promised to obey, after returning from an expedition. In his ab- 
sence, Geilana, the German "Herodias," desired Kilian's head; and 
so, like John the Baptist, for similar faithfulness, he and his com- 
panions shared a similar fate, 688. 

The similiarity in these events and the Scripture narrative, is suf- 
ficient to establish an identity in preachers, and the gospel preached. 

Willebeod — An Englishman, and eleven of his countrymen, 
went over into Holland to labor among the Friezelanclers ; but being 
ill-treated by the king, who put one of them to death, they retired 
to Denmark. Returning into Friezeland in 693, they propagated 
divine truth with success. Willebrod was ordained Bishop of TVilte- 
burg, by the Roman prelate (a departure from the ancient practice, 
for each church to ordain its own bishop), where he labored in his 
diocese until his death ; while his associates spread the gospel into 
Westphalia, and the neighboring countries. 

Bede — An Englishman, flourished about 700 ; was so much dis- 
tinguished for his -humility and piety, that he acquired the surname 
of " Venerable." He was educated in a monastery, and, being in- 
clined to a monastic life, spent much of his time in his cell, devoted 
to writing. His principal work was a history of the church, from 
the time of Christ to his own time. 

In one of his letters to the Archbishop of York, he says: 
" Above all things, avoid useless discourse, and apply yourself to the 
Holy Scriptures, especially to the Epistles of Timothy and Titus, to 
Gregory's Pastoral Care, and his homilies on the gospel. Have 
always those about you, who may assist you in temptation ; be not 
like some bishops, who delight to have those about them who love 
good cheer, and divert them with trifling and facetious conversation." 
Not a very popish piece of advice for any age. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 201 

Winfred — Was co-laborer and successor of Willebrocl, in Frieze- 
land. Daniel, Bishop of Winchester, wrote to Winfred, about A. D. 
723, for advice how to deal with the pagans. In reply, he says : 
" Do not contradict, in a direct manner, the account of the geneal- 
ogy of their gods ; allow that they were born from one another, as 
mankind are ; this concession will give you the advantage of prov- 
ing that there was a time when they had no existence. Ask them 
who governed the world before their gods were born ; ask them if 
their gods have ceased to propagate. Argue thus with them, not in 
the way of insult, but with temper and moderation ; taking oppor- 
tunities to contrast their absurdities with the Christian doctrine ; 
inform them that idolatry did once prevail over the world, but 
Jesus Christ was manifested, in order to reconcile men to God by 
his grace." 

A much more scriptural doctrine, and Christian spirit, than ap- 
peared in the second Council of Mce. 

Winfred seems to have been the master agent in diffusing the 
spirit of the gospel in those parts. He was devotedly attached to 
Friezeland ; so much so, that he often induced individuals to go 
over there from England ; and when he visited Rome, his ambition 
was to enlist volunteers for his German mission. 

The chief instrumentality used for the protection of this mission, 
was the favor shown it by the French kings. 

It seems a strange medley for France to favor both popery and 
Christianity, protect the latter from destruction by the former ; and 
that some of the evangelical bishops of the time, who were spread- 
ing the truth and light, directly opposed to the idolatry and world- 
liness of Rome, were ordained and commissioned by the Pope him- 
self! 

Winfred was one of them, and he even induced Englishmen from 
Rome to aid him in his mission, by accompanying him to his field 
of labor. 

Having appointed a day for confirming his new converts, and 
while awaiting their arrival, who should appear but a troop of armed 
pagans, who fell upon him and his company and slew them, fifty-two 
in number, in 755. 

Paitlicians ; — A class of Christians having its origin about 660. 
They are said to have derived their name from Paul. They were 
earnest, zealous, unassuming teachers of the Scriptures and a pure 
faith. 

Their origin seems to have been, not from any sects of the times, 
but spontaneous, or by the influence of the Spirit of God calling 
them from darkness to light. They were perfectly free from image- 

26 



202 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

worship ; were simply scriptural in the use of the sacraments ; dis- 
regarded relics, and knew no other mediator but the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

A Greek officer, Simeon, was sent, by imperial authority, to destroy 
the Paulicians. Sylvanus, the leader, was taken, and stones were 
put into the hands of some of his followers, with the order to stone 
him to death, as the price of their own deliverance. 

To this order but one obeyed ; Justus (should have been called 
Judas) bought his life by stoning to death the pastor of the Paul- 
icians, who had labored among them twenty-seven years. Simeon, 
the officer, convinced of their piety, embraced their faith, preached 
the gospel, and himself died a martyr. 

They existed from the latter part of the seventh to the former 
part of the ninth centuries ; spread their doctrines nearly all over 
Asia Minor, and nourished greatly; were the objects of the most 
bloody persecution by the popes, until, weary and despised, they 
were eaten up by their enemies, and their dispersion completed 
about 845. 

The great revival in England and on the continent, in the eighth 
century, is the chief feature of the true church in this age. It may 
be denominated a missionary age ; for no age, since the apostolic, 
bears a more marked feature of the missionary spirit than this. In- 
deed, God seems to have poured out his Spirit afresh, as an antidote 
to the growing assumptions of Rome. 

Nothing will so effectually withstand the machinations of evil, in 
any and all forms, as the presence of the Holy Ghost. 

The growth of the papal monopoly was so subtle, and ran so near 
in parallel with the times, that all might have been lulled into image- 
worship, had not God preserved a seed to serve him, animated by 
his Spirit. 

Leo. — For some time previous to 727, there had been a growing 
regard for images, as aids to devotion, on the part of the Roman 
Church and its adherents. In 727, Leo, the Greek emperor, began 
openly to oppose this idolatry ; but no sooner had he made known 
his opposition to images, than Germanicus, Bishop of Constantino- 
ple, and Gregory II., Bishop of Rome, opposed him, — many in both 
churches supporting the two idolatrous bishops. 

What a change ! In Nero's time, the emperors venerated idols, 
and the bishops despised them ; now, the emperor despises idols, and 
the bisho23s venerate them ! 

In 730, Leo issued an edict against images, deposed Germanicus, 
and ordered the removal of an image, which had been set up in the 
palace at Constantinople. While an officer was performing this 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 203 

work, some women pulled down tlie ladder on which he stood, and 
murdered him on the spot. An insurrection ensued, which the em- 
peror only quelled with blood. 

The news flew to Rome ; the images of the emperor were pulled 
down and trodden under foot ; all Italy was thrown into confusion ; 
the Bishop of Rome favored an attempt to elect another bishop, in 
spite of the emperor, and absolved the Italians from paying tribute 
to Leo any longer. 

Fine successor of Christ ! who paid tribute and commanded his 
disciples to do so also. Fine bishop, to oppose the righteous proceed- 
ings of an emperor, and favor idolatry ! 

Gregory II. died in the midst of the confusion, and was succeeded 
by Gregory III., who assembled a council in 732, in which he excom- 
municated all who should speak contemptuously of images. 

In 741, both he and Leo died. Constantine, son of Leo, succeeded 
him as emperor, having all his father's zeal against images, while 
Zachary was chosen Bishop of Rome, with all of Gregory's zeal for 
images. 

At this time, Childeric, a weak prince, occupied the throne of 
France. Pepin, son of Charles Martel, his prime minister, aspired 
to the throne ; and, to strengthen his purpose, asked the advice of 
Pope Zachary, " Whether it would be just in him to depose his sov- 
ereign and usurp the throne? " The Pope answered in the affirma- 
tive, and Pepin ascended the throne. 

Doubtless Zachary foresaw the advantage it would be to his cause 
to favor Pepin's design, and thereby gain an ally: at least, put the 
King of France under obligation to the See of Rome. 

Stephen, the successor of Zachary, finding himself in danger from 
the Lombards, applied to Constantine, his legal sovereign, for pro- 
tection ; but, failing to obtain it, he was obliged to look to Pepin for 
aid. In this emergency, Pepin could not refuse, since he owed all 
he had to the advice of a former Pope. 

The struggle resulted in confirming, as a possession to the Pope, 
the Exarchate of Ravenna, and twenty-one cities, 755, A. D. 

Here, then, we get the " bishop-emperor" having the sceptre 
united to the keys / indeed, Gregory himself proposed to withdraw 
his allegiance to the Greek emperor, Leo, and bestow the consulship 
of Rome upon Charles Martel, father of Pepin, if he would aid and 
protect him. 

Surely we can now reckon the Bishop of Rome among the civil 
mountebanks of the age. 

All we need to add to the See of Rome now, to place it back on 
a level, not with Constantine, but the pagan emperors^ is to attach 



204: HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

idolatry to her creed and practice, with persecution, and we shall 
then have papal-paganism. 

Constantine VI. assembled a council of three hundred and thirty- 
eight bishops, in the year 754, to decide the question of images. 
This council condemned their use : showing that Rome had not 
triumphed yet, and that even at this time, the influence of the 
gospel was considerable. 

Leo, his son and successor, died in the year 780, when his wife, 
Irene, assumed the government, and at once signified to Pope 
Adrian her entire willingness to cooperate with him in the establish- 
ment of image-worship, notwithstanding the opposition to it by her 
husband and predecessors. (Another Jezebel!) 

Having lost sight of the doctrine of justification by faith, the 
popes were eager to seize upon any subterfuge, that would exalt 
their sway over the minds of men. 

At length, in the year 787, the second Council at Nice was held, 
under the auspices of the Empress Irene, in which the worship of 
images was established. 

In taking Christian (?) notice of the previous council, at Con- 
stantinople, this language was used: "Long live Constantine, and 
Irene his mother ! Damnation to all heretics ! Damnation on the 
council that roared against venerable images ! — The holy Trinity 
hath deposed them." 

Compare the winding-up of the council held by the ajDOstles, at 
Jerusalem. — Acts 15 : 28, 29. 

Thus, in less than five centuries from Constantine's destruction of 
idolatry, it is reestablished by his own state and church device : 
showing the retrograde and corrupt tendency of state religion. 

Alcuin. — While the East had gone over to idolatry, the great 
revival in England and the west of Europe, preserved the light for 
some time after. As soon as Adrian had obtained the decrees of 
Irene's council, he transmitted them to Charlemagne, Emperor 
of France, for him to obtain the assent of the bishops of the West 
to them. 

In this he was disappointed. Alcuin, an Englishman, whom Char- 
lemagne respected highly, had a great influence over his mind, in 
the opposite sentiment, it being the sentiment of the West generally. 
The British churches execrated the Council of Nice. So far was 
the emperor from receiving these decrees, that he requested the 
bishops of the West to examine the merits of the question. 

The result was the issue of the Carolin (i. <?., Charlemagne) books, 
in which Alcuin took a prominent part. In these books they con- 
demned, in very free terms, the viorship of images (though permit- 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 205 

ting their presence in the churches), using very pointed Scripture 
arguments, still in a respectful tone. 

These books being presented to Pope Adrian, by order of Char- 
lemagne, elicited from him a very weak and tame reply. This was 
owing chiefly to the fact, that Adrian, as well as his predecessors, 
were dependent upon France for support and protection. Charles 
and the French churches, however, took a middle course, allowing 
the presence of images, but abhorred the adoration of them. In 
A. D. 794, a council was held in Frankfort on the Maine, consisting 
of three hundred bishops, in which the second Council of Nice, and 
the worship of images, were condemned. 

PERIOD IV. FROM CLAUDE OF TURIN, 4821 A, M., 817 A, D., TO THE PEACE OF 
RELIGION, 5559, A. M., 1555 A. D. 

Claude. — Hitherto the growing assumptions of Rome had not 
been resolutely opposed. Contrary opinions had been proclaimed, 
and objections made ; a middle course pursued by some, admitting 
the presence, but not the worship of images, etc. ; and the devout 
had turned in disgust to a more excellent way; but the assault 
upon the popedom was left to be made by. Claude, Bishop of Turin. 

He was born in Spain, and became chaplain to the Emperor 
Louis I. of France. This monarch, observing the deplorable igno- 
rance of a great part of Italy, of the gospel, and desirous of pro- 
viding the churches of Piedmont with some one who would stem 
the growing torrent of image-worship, promoted Claude to the 
bishopric of Turin, A. D. 817. 

True to his trust, he made a decided, bold, and persevering at- 
tack upon the Man of Sin, whereby he is justly styled the first 
reformer; so that, before the Papacy had attained its grow r th, 
it began to feel the "smooth stones" from the Davids of the 
Reformation. 

The emperor was not disappointed in Claude ; and God owned 
and blessed him, and the Church of Christ to-day honors him. He 
removed the images from the churches; reproved with severity the 
elevation of tradition to a level with the Bible ; insisted upon the 
fallibility of "the church;" contended for the equality of all the 
apostles with Peter, and denied the authority of the popes; de- 
nounced the idolatry and superstition that everywhere prevailed 
through their influence; and maintained that Jesus Christ was the 
only proper Head of the church, and that we must be saved by 
faith only. 

The providence of God shielded Claude from the storm of popish 
wrath that lowered uj^on him, in the favor of the Emperor of 



206 HISTORY OF RELIGION". 

France, who, strange to say, at different times favored Rome and 
opposed it. 

In some of his reasonings about idols, he says: "If they who 
have quitted the worship of devils, honor the images of saints, they 
have not forsaken idols, they have only changed the names ; for, 
whether you paint upon a wall the pictures of Saint Paul or Peter, 
or those of Mercury, Jupiter, or Saturn, they are all dead, and are 

now neither gods, apostles, nor men If the cross ought to be 

adored because He was nailed to it, so ought we to adore mangers, 
for He was laid in one; and swaddling clothes, because he was 
wrapped in them. ... Ye fools, who run to Rome to seek the inter- 
cession of an apostle, when will ye be wise? Shall we not believe 
God, when he swears that neither Noah, nor Daniel, nor Job shall 
deliver son or daughter by their righteousness ? What would St. 
Augustine say of you, whom we have so often quoted? The apos- 
tolic, that is, the pope, is not he who fills the see of the apostle, but 
he who discharges its duties." 

The faithful and successful labors of Claude were felt in the 
tenth century, and had their influence even to the times of the 
Waldenses. Thus God's church was preserved from extinction 
through the dark ages ; from this to the fourteenth century. 

Besides the tremendous onslaught of Claude upon the Church of 
Rome, he set an example which many, in after-times, hesitated not 
to imitate, and apply to the common enemy of truth. 

Gottechalfss — Has rendered himself worthy of notice for 
his vindication of the doctrines of predestination and free grace. 
His enemies, not being able to confute him, implored the interfer- 
ence of civil pains and penalties to induce him to recant. But all 
being in vain, he was thrown into prison, where he died A. D. 869. 
After his death, however, many defended his doctrines ; and in 
several councils they were variously supported and condemned. 

Cyril, and Methodius. — Constantine, called Cyril, and his 
brother, Methodius, were the instruments of introducing the gos- 
pel among the Bulgarians, though perhaps in a less pure state than 
in apostolic times, yet infinitely superior to the paganism they 
professed. 

They also invented and taught letters to the Moravians; and the 
Sclavonian tongue, invented by them, is to this day used in the lit- 
urgy of the Moravians, or United Brethren. Cyril died a monk ; 
Methodius was Bishop of Moravia 880, 

Fredric — Of Devonshire, and nephew of Winfrid, being ap- 
pointed Bishop of Utrecht, was one day dining with Louis I., the 
Meek, when the eurperor exhorted him to discharge his office with 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 207 

faithfulness and integrity. Pointing to a fish on the table, Freclric 
inquired " whether it were proper to take it by the head, or by the 
tail." — "By the head, to be sure," replied the emperor. Said the 
bishop : " Then I must begin my career of faithfulness with your 
majesty," and proceeded to reprove him for being in an incestuous 
connection with the Empress Judith ; and, like John the Baptist 
to Herod, and like Kilian to Gosbert, Fredric said to Louis, "It is 
not lawful for you to have her." So in like manner as did Hero- 
dias, and Geilana, did Judith also compass the death of the bishop. 
Thus did John, Kilian, and Fredric, perish for reproving the same 
sin in high places; and in each instance by the womarfs hand 
who was implicated. See Kilian, page 200, and John, page 168. 
He died in 833. 

Haymo, — Chosen Bishop of Haberstadt in 841 ; was a scholar of 
Alcuin, and relative of Bede ; took great pains to preach to the 
people. 

Says he : " By the Book of Life, we ought to understand the 
divine predestination as it is written. The Lord knoweth them that 
are his. Faith, remission of sins, and all the gifts of God, are 
freely given to believers." 

Anscakius, — The apostle of Denmark and Sweden, did a great 
work for those parts, and died in 865. Having obtained the fa- 
vor of Eric, King of Denmark, he found it of great service to 
him. See mention of the family name "JEric" in the history of 
Empire. 

Alfred, — King of England, though a Catholic nominally, was 
not blind to the corruptions of the Papacy, nor to the truth of the 
gospel. In speaking of wealth, life, and power, he says : " All thy 
happiness would but work thy misery, unless thou could purchase 
thee Christ." 

In speaking of the translation of the Scriptures into the vulgar 
tongues, he says : " I called to mind how that the law was at first 
found written in the Hebrew speech; after that the Greeks had 
learned it, they turned it into their own speech ; and then the Latin 
people, through wise interpreters, turned it into their own language; 
and all other Christian people have turned some part of it into their 
tongue." 

He lamented the irreligion and ignorance of his times, and 
proved himself a reformer. Ministers the most pious and apt to 
teach, were patronized by him. One-third part of his time he spent 
in translating the best foreign books into English. He is said to 
have been the founder of the University of Oxford. He flourished 
about 900 A. C. 



208 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Hence we gather good evidence, and the student of history can 
find much more, that, in the age of the growing assumptions of 
Popery, the truth as it is in Jesus was held, preached, and prac- 
tised by a vast number, in spite of popes. 

The tenth century is called the leaden age of the church — the 
darkest epoch in the annals of mankind. Mosheim says: "The 
history of the Roman Pontiffs that lived in this century is a history 
of so many monsters and not of men ; and exhibits a horrible series 
of the most flagitious, tremendous, and complicated crimes, as all 
writers, even those of the Romish Community, unanimously con- 
fess." One Roman writer admits that this was an iron age, barren 
of all goodness ; a leaden age, abounding in all wickedness ; a dark 
age, remarkable above all others for the scarcity of writers and men 
of learning. 

This description better suits the emperors of pagan Rome than 
Rome under Christian bishops. But when it is remembered that 
these bishops had added temporal to spiritual power, become 
princes as well as priests, embraced the worship of images, and 
were seeking aggrandizement by worldly wars, adding persecution, 
withal, against those who refused to adore idols, and being equally 
sunk in voluptuousness, we can hardly recognize anything but 
pagan emperors in the papal bishops. 

In the year 909, at a council held in Trosle, in France, expres- 
sion was given to Christian doctrine, without mixture with pecu- 
liarly popish notions. 

Councils, from time to time, ventured to act in contempt of the 
Pope. A remarkable instance of the kind occurred in Rheims, in 
which a council deposed a bishop without consent of the Pope. 

Aknuxphus, — The president of this council, and Bishop of Or- 
leans, addressed it as follows : " O deplorable Rome, who in the days 
of our forefathers producedst so many burning and shining lights! 
thou hast brought forth in our times only dismal darkness, worthy of 
the detestation of posterity. What shall we do, or what counsel shall 
we take? The gospel tells us of a barren fig-tree, and of the divine 
patience exercised toward it. Let us bear with our primates as long 
as we can, and in the meantime seek for spiritual food where it is to 
be found. Certainly there are some in this holy assembly who can 
testify that in Belgium and Germany, both which are near us, there 
may be found real pastors, and eminent men in religion. Far better 
would it be, if the animosities of kings did not prevent, that we 
should seek in those parts for the judgment of bishops, than in that 
venal city, which weighs all decrees by the quantity of money. 
What think you, reverend fathers, of this man, the Pope, placed on a 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 209 

lofty throne, shining in purple and gold ? Whom do you account 
him ? If destitute of love, and puffed up with the pride of knowl- 
edge only, he is Antichrist sitting in the temple of God." 

Thus, in the tenth century, the Pope would have been rejected 
wholly, but for his unrighteous assumptions, which he claimed and 
enforced with the sword. There was enough of the true church 
left to know him and despise him. 

Otiio. — Papal Rome had now sunk to equal depths of shame 
with pagan Rome, when Alaric the Goth made his descent upon it, 
and emptied the sinks of iniquity ; so at this time, Otho I., King 
of the Germans, entered the "venal city" with the sword, and 
probed its festering corruption. 

The civil order he restored so put the popes at bay, that, had 
there been some Claude, or other valiant man for the truth, to have 
directed the emperor at this juncture, the popedom might have 
been overthrown ; but none arose. Otho's zeal was, doubtless, the 
result of the influence of missions in Germany in previous years. 

His efforts, seconded by his empress Adelaide, to purify the outward 
church, to promote learning, to erect bishoprics, to endow churches, 
and propagate the gospel among the barbarous nations, were truly 
laudable, — all such efforts were so entirely at variance with the 
spirit and policy of the popes ; also, being so rare an exception to 
the princes of the times, who were fast bowing to the Man of Sin. 

Gylas. — This Hungarian chief is said to have embraced pure 
Christianity, and was baptized at Constantinople. He encouraged 
the labors of Hierotheus, the bishop who returned with him among 
the Hungarians, which proved salutary. 

Geysa, chief prince of Hungary, married Sarolta, daughter of 
Gylas, and by her influence Geysa embraced Christianity, and by 
her means was the gospel once more introduced into that desolate 
region. Stephen, son of Geysa, embraced Christianity, and was bap- 
tized, and through his zealous labors almost the whole of Germany 
was evangelized. 

Adalbert. — -That this archbishop, born in 956, had some sense 
of religion, is evident from his remark : "It is an easy thing to wear 
a mitre and a cross, but an awful thing to give an account of a bish- 
opric before the Judge of quick and dead." 

Unni, — Archbishop of Hamburg, with associates, went into Den- 
mark and Sweden, and traversed over much of the ground on which 
Anscarius had formerly labored, and was abundantly successful in 
reviving the work, and extending it even beyond where it had hith- 
erto spread. He died at Birca, in A. D. 936. 

Indeed, throughout the North, and at remote places from Rome, 

27 



210 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

there is a vast amount of evidence of the existence of vital erodli- 
ness. The doctrines of regeneration, justification by faith, headship 
of Christ over the church, in short, a good understanding of the 
gospel, and a faithful profession of it and obedience to the same. 

So, while left to itself, the gospel has enough of leaven to keep 
alive the germ of spiritual life in the hearts of its friends, and ani- 
mate Christian men to go forth among idolaters, and turn them 
from idols to the living God. 

But, under the influence of the " Universal Bishop," the spirit of 
piety was rooted out, and that of ambition, pride, and worldly 
porup, entered in. 

Theophylact — Bishop of Constantinople, speaks very clearly 
on several important points. 

On filial obedience, he says : " If thou wouldst have thy sons 
obey thee, instruct them in the Divine Word. It is for thy own 
interest that thy children be well versed in Scripture ; thence they 
will learn to reverence their parents." 

ISTot very popish to teach children the Scriptures. 

Of the state of man after the fall, he says : " Some, indeed, are 
found to be good-tempered and benign by nature, none by exer- 
cise and meditation. And though some be reckoned good men, yet 
they adulterate every action by vain glory." 

On justification, he says: "The righteousness of God preserves 
us, not our own ; for what righteousness have we, who are alto- 
gether corrupt? for God justifies us not by works, but by faith. 
The righteousness of God is by faith." 

On the abundance of grace, Rom. 5, he says : " Suppose a person 
thrown into prison, with his wife and children, because he is deeply 
in debt, and then should be not only freed from the prison and the 
demands of the law, but also receive at once innumerable talents ; 
be introduced into the royal palace ; be presented with a kingdom, 
and accounted worthy of the same, and be reckoned the son of a 
king; this is the abundance of grace." 

Of Christian faith, he says: "He who believes with great affec- 
tion, extends his heart to God. His heart, inflamed, conceives a 
strong assurance that it shall gain its desire. We all know this by 
experience, because Christ hath said : Whatever ye ask in prayer, 
believing, ye shall receive. He who believes gives himself wholly 
to God ; he speaks to him with tears, and in prayer holds the Lord, 
as it were, by the feet." 

Such sentiments, in the tenth century, are noble. They savor 
very little of priestly confession, absolution, indulgences, and what 
not, taught by the Universal Bishop of Rome. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 211 

Nilus — Was of Greek extraction, born in 910, in Calabria. 
After the death of his wife, he entered a convent in 940. 

In 976, the Bishop of Calabria, and a lord of that territory, 
named Leo, with many priests, made him a visit, rather with a 
view to try his skill, than to derive any benefit from his instruc- 
tions. Nilus treated them civilly, prayed with them a short time, 
and then put into the hands of Leo a book concerning the small 
number of the saved. 

The company expressed dissatisfaction with the harshness of the 
doctrine. This induced Nilus to bring proof of his position from 
the Fathers, Paul, and the Gospels. Said he : " These maxims seem 
terrible, because they condemn your practices. Unless you be sin- 
cerely holy, you cannot escape everlasting torments." 

One of the company, whom JSTilus knew lived in open sin, asked 
him if Solomon were saved or not ? " What is that to us ? " said 
he. " It is sufficient for you to know that Christ pronounces damna- 
tion against all workers of iniquity. I should think it would be a 
more interesting object of injuiry for you to consider whether you 
shall he saved or not." 

This short account exhibits clearly who were of the true Church 
of Christ, and who of the apostate Church of Rome. Christ's peo- 
ple were at this age scattered like sheep among wolves, — wolves in 
sheep's clothing. The gospel was loved, believed, and practised in 
this night of sin. 

The eleventh century was visited with a little impulse of learn- 
ing, but confined chiefly to the monks and established clergy. 

In the Papal Church, a contest arose between the popes and the 
emperors, particularly in settling the question, who should appoint 
the popes. The power of doing this important work was finally 
taken from the emperors, and lodged in the college of cardinals, 
where it still remains. 

The celibacy of the clergy, and the doctrine of transubstantiation, 
were fully recognized and established ; in short, Popery reigned tri- 
umphant in the high places. 

This century is noticed for the separation of the Eastern and 
Western, or Greek and Latin churches. The desire of each to 
rule, had not been extinguished since the time John, of Constanti- 
nople, assumed the title of Universal Bishop ; and the time when 
Phocas wrested it from John's successor, and bestowed it upon 
Boniface III., of Pome. 

The point of contention now was, respecting the source of the 
Holy Ghost. The Latin Church maintained that the Spirit proceeds 
from the Father and the Son ; the Greek Church maintained that 



212 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

the Spirit proceeded from the Father, through the Son. On this 
rock they split. 

It seems a curious affair, that the division of the seat of empire, 
between Rome and Constantinople, should have finally rent both 
the empire and church of Constantiue. 

In 1054, an attempt was made to reconcile these differences, and 
legates were sent to Constantinople by the Roman pontiff. But 
both parties were too proud to yield, and the effort ended abruptly. 

The Roman legates, however, closed the affair, by meeting in the 
Church of St. Sophia, and publicly excommunicating the Greek 
patriarch and all his adherents. 

Xo attempts since have been of any avail in harmonizing the 
breach, then completed, and so they remain separate to this day. 
Rome was now left to pursue its idolatry and domination, 

Berexgarius. — The most considerable opposition made to the 
errors of Rome, in this century, were the writings of this man, 
against the doctrine of transubstantiation. The doctrine so called, 
consists in the belief, that in the Lord's Supper, the real, actual pres- 
ence of Christ's incarnate body is in the bread and wine. Against 
this, Berengarius made so strong opposition, that the popes were 
obliged to take notice of it. This shows that some sense of truth 
prevailed amid the general error, 1050 A. C. 

So strong was the opposition he endured, that, for a time, he was 
compelled to bend before it ; but, greater numbers beginning to rally 
for his defence, he again set his face against his foes. His writings 
proved a formidable weapon, in the hands of the lovers of truth, 
against the errors of Rome. 

Stephex, — King of Hungary, showed himself a zealous patron 
of the gospel. Under his auspices, Astricus came into Hungary, 
opened a school, and educated ministers ; while Boniface, one of 
his disciples, preached the Word in Lower Hungary. Stephen's 
zeal was much stimulated by his pious queen, Gisla, daughter of the 
Emperor, Henry II. He often accompanied the preachers, and 
pathetically exhorted his subjects. He suj^pressed barbarous cus- 
toms, and restrained open crime. 

His excellent code of laws is to this day the basis of the laws of 
Hungary. In it he forbids all impiety, the violation of the Sab- 
bath, and irreverent behavior in the house of God. He lived to 
see all Hungary become, externally at least, Christian. He died in 
A. D. 1038. 

Many efforts were made, from time to time, to convert the pagans, 
which proved unsuccessful ; yet they show beautifully that the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 213 

propagation of the gospel, a spirit so peculiar to itself, was in exist- 
ence even in these dark ages. 

Godeschaltts, — Duke of the Vandals, revived among his sub- 
jects a regard for the gospel, which they had once embraced, but 
afterwards neglected. 

Boniface, — And eighteen others, set out from Germany, to labor 
among the Prussians ; but were all massacred by that barbarous 
people. 

Olaus II. — King of Sweden, made request, in 1001, for mission- 
aries to be sent over from England, to preach the gospel there. Suc- 
cess attended their labors in East and West Gothland, the pagans 
often making great opposition. 

Elfeic — Supposed to be the predecessor of Alphage (1006 A. C.) 
had it inserted in one of the canons, published by a council at 
which he j:>resided, that every parish priest should be obliged, on 
Sundays, and other holidays, to explain the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, 
and the gospel for the day, before the people, in the English tongue. 
Such an order as this is worthy of special notice, published by a 
council in the eleventh century : showing that withholding the light 
from the people was not a universal practice, though a strong power 
sought to bring it into force. 

Alphage, — Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to leave his post, 
during a furious invasion of the Danes, saying, " The hireling leav- 
eth the flock when he seeth the wolf coming." Whilst they were 
putting children and women to the sword, Alphage went forth, and 
besought the soldiers to humanity, saying : " Many of your troops 
have been brought over to the faith of Christ, through my means, 
and I have frequently rebuked you for your acts of injustice." Exas- 
perated at his boldness, the Danes threw him down and stoned him 
to death, 1013. 

Ulfetd, — An Englishman, preached the faith first in Germany, 
then in Sweden, under the patronage of Olaus, and many were con- 
verted, till, in 1028, while preaching against the idol Thor, and hew- 
ing it down with a hatchet, he was slain by the pagans. 

Olaus, — King of Norway, in retiring from England, after assist- 
ing the Danes against the English, took with him several priestSo 
This prince also used to travel with zealous preachers, exhorting his 
subjects, and destroying temples. He abolished idolatry in Norway, 
Orkney, Iceland, and Greenland, 1030 A. C. 

Nearly all this northern part of Europe was very largely and 
favorably influenced, and proverbially elevated in the spirit and tem- 
per of their minds, and all attributable to the spread of an anti-pagan 
and anti-Roman Christianity ; i. e., the true gospel of Jesus. 



214 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Under William the Conquerer, Popery received encouragement in 
England; he, seeing it to be a good tool of despotism, used it. 

Margaret, — Queen of Scotland, was a person of rarest piety; 
and through her influence Scotland received great blessings, by the 
spread of the gospel. " She was a character fitted to throw a lustre 
on the purest ages." 

Anselm — The most important character at this time, was born 
in Aoust, Piedmont. He was made Archbishop of Canterbury, 
England, in 1092. 

His works evince considerable evangelical spirit. He was, perhaps, 
the most devoted to the gospel of any public character of his age. 

His inclinations were in favor of the Pope, and not the king, dis- 
posing of ecclesiastical affairs. 

In a council, at Bari, called to settle the dispute with the Greek 
Church, about whence the Holy Ghost proceeded, Pope Urban 
called upon Anselm to express his opinion. It was so clear and 
pungent, as to silence the Greeks. His views were with the Latin 
Church on this point. 

Such was his desire for holiness, that he is reported to have said: 
" If he saw hell open, and sin before him, he would leap into the 
former to avoid the latter ! " 

Great as was the darkness and tyranny of this age, we still find a 
multitude moved by the Spirit and truth of God. Among these, 
many of whom were zealous propagators of the pure gospel, we 
must look for the true church, and the truth as it is in Jesus. 

Pilgrimages to Jerusalem had come, in this century, to be of great 
account in the Church of Rome. An idea sprang up, that the thou- 
sand years spoken of in Revelation 20 : 2 — 4, were nearly fulfilled, 
and the end of the world at hand. 

A great excitement prevailed ; numbers forsook their pursuits, 
left their families, and hastened to the Holy Land, where, they imag- 
ined, Christ would suddenly appear, to judge the living and the 
dead. 

Jerusalem had now been in the hands of the Saracens since 637; 
during which time the pilgrims were permitted to visit the holy 
places, by the payment of a small tribute. The Saracens were fol- 
lowers of Mohammed, — a people who inhabited the north-western 
part of Arabia. The Ottomans, afterwards called Turks, inhabited 
the north shores of the Caspian Sea ; were converted to Moham- 
medanism by the Saracens. 

In 1065, the Turks took possession of Jerusalem, and the pilgrims 
were no longer safe. They were insulted, their worshi]} derided, 
and their effects plundered. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 215 

Peter the Hermit, a Frenchman, returning from a pilgrimage in 
1095, seeing the annoyances to which the pilgrims were subject, con- 
ceived the project of arming the sovereigns and people of Europe, 
for the purpose of rescuing the holy sepulchre from the hands of 
the infidels. • 

Accordingly he went from province to province, exciting princes 
and people to embark in the holy enterprise. 

Pope Urban II. espoused the cause of Peter ; called a council, at 
which four thousand ecclesiastics and thirty thousand people assem- 
bled, and declared for the war, but still slow to engage. A second 
council was held the same year, at Claremont, at which the Pope 
addressed the people in person ; at the close of which, they ex- 
claimed : "It is the will of God! It is the loill of God/" 

Persons of all ranks flew to arms furiously. 

Eternal salvation was promised to all who should go forth to the 
help of the Lord. Nobles, bishops, and even women entered the 
ranks in disguise. Robbers, murderers, and incendiaries embraced 
the opportunity to secure a place in paradise. 

Peter, in the spring of 1096, at the head of an undisciplined mul- 
titude of three hundred thousand, commenced his march towards 
the East. Outrage and murder marked their course. Scarcely one 
third of them reached Constantinople, and these were utterly de- 
stroyed, in a battle at Nice, by the Sultan Solyman. 

A formidable body of disciplined troops were, however, in the 
rear, and soon neared the city. Godfrey commanded, assisted by 
several other distinguished generals and princes of Europe. Arriv- 
ing at Mce, he reviewed his troops, and found his army composed 
of one hundred thousand horse, and six hundred thousand foot. 
City after city fell before them ; and at Antioch, they vanquished 
an army of Saracens, of six hundred thousand strong. Arriving at 
Jerusalem, in 1099, reduced by killed, and detachments of protection 
by the way, the army consisted of only one thousand five hundred 
horse, and twenty thousand foot ; wdiile the garrison of Jerusalem 
consisted of forty thousand men. 

A siege of five weeks, ending with an assault, carried the city, 
and all within were indiscriminately put to the sword, and the 
crusaders' flag waved in triumph over the battlements of holy 
Jerusalem. 

Godfrey was saluted king. He only wore the crown a year, hav- 
ing to resign it to the Pope's legate, who claimed it as the property 
of the Roman See. 

Foolish as was the crusaders' undertaking, yet the success was a 
most glorious achievement of arms. To march an army from France 



216 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

to Jerusalem, and take it in the first attempt, was carrying the cru- 
saders' flag in triumph over the graves and battle-fields of the 
Caasars, Hannibals, Pompeys, Alexanders, Dariuses, and Antiochuses 
of ancient war. 

TWELFTH CENTURY. 

The Turks soon fell upon the kingdom of the crusaders, threatening 
it with ruin. A second crusade was deemed necessary. St. Bernard 
took the place of Peter the Hermit, and succeeded in raising an 
army of three hundred thousand men from among the subjects of 
Louis VII., of France, and Conrad III., of Germany. The army, 
headed by these monarchs, took up its march for Jerusalem, in 1147. 
After enduring incredible hardships, and loss of their troops, they 
returned in disgrace to their own country. 

In 1187, Saladin, sovereign of Egypt, Arabia, Syria, and Persia, 
invaded Palestine, and annihilated the kingdom of Jerusalem. 

The news of this catastrophe reaching Europe, filled it with grief 
and consternation. Pope Clement III. immediately proclaimed a 
third crusade. The principal sovereigns of Europe eagerly enlisted 
in the cause ; Philip Augustus, of France, Richard. I., of England, 
and Frederick Barbarossa, of Germany. This effort also proved a 
failure, — the Infidels retaining the holy places. 

For nearly two centuries, Europe was convulsed with what was 
(falsely) called holy wars. Besides the wreck of families and for- 
tunes at home, two millions of Europeans were buried in the East. 

Great wealth accrued to the Roman pontiffs, but every million 
they obtained cost Europe ten millions ; so that the enriching of 
Rome, was the impoverishing of Europe. 

Beneficial results are, however, reckoned indirectly, accruing to 
society from these barbarous expeditions, in respect to its political 
condition, manners and customs of the people; to commercial inter- 
course ; to literature, and, in the end, to religion itself. 

Such, in brief, were the crusades, or holy (unholy) wars. 

It is plain that the history of the dominant Church of Rome is 
not the history of the true Church of Christ. We must look for 
it among the scattered and peeled, seeking a resting-place, with 
a few noble exceptions, where the prowlings of Popery could not 
find or devour them. 

They were known by the names Cathari, or pure ; Leonists, or 
poor men of Lyons; Albigenses, from Alby, a town in France; 
Petro-brussians, from Peter Bruys, an eminent preacher ; Walden- 
ses, from Valdesi (Italian for valley), as they lived in the valleys 
of Piedmont, — afterwards called Waldenses, from Peter Waldo. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 217 

Evervinus wrote a letter to Bernard, in 1140, inquiring what to do 
with certain persons who held very obnoxious doctrines to the 
Papacy. Their heresies were : " One of their bishops, and his com- 
panions, openly opposed us in the assembly of the clergy and laity, 
in the presence of the Archbishop of Cologne, and of many of the 
nobility ; defending their heresies by the words of Christ and the 
apostles." What audacious heretics ! 

" They further asked for an opportunity for their teachers to dis- 
cuss their doctrines publicly, promising to return to the church if 
their opponents could confront their masters ; but that otherwise, 
they would rather die than yield their opinions. Upon this last 
declaration, they were seized by the people, in the excess of zeal, 
and burnt to death ; and, what is very amazing, they came to the 
stake and bore the pain, not only with patience, but even with joy. 
Were I with you, Father, I should be glad to ask you how these 
members of Satan could persist in their heresy with such courage 
and constancy, as is scarcely to be found in the most religious 
believers of Christianity ? " 

Very astonishing, indeed, friend Evervinus ! Wonder if St. Ber- 
nard could solve the mystery ! 

" Their heresy is this : — They say that the church is only among 
themselves, because they alone, of all men, follow the steps of 
Christ, and imitate the apostles, — not seeking secular gains. The 
apostolical dignity, say they, is corrupted by engaging in secular 
affairs while sitting in the chair of Peter. They put no confidence 
in the intercession of saints ; and all things observed in the church, 
which have not been established by Christ himself, or his apostles, 
they call superstitious." Monstrous ! 

" Those of them who have returned to our church, told us that 
great numbers of their persuasion were scattered almost everywhere, 
and that among them were many of our clergy and monks." 

Such were the true believers, and the true church ; and yet Ever- 
vinus calls these same men monsters ! In the twelfth century, there 
were those who disowned the Pope ! 

St. Bernard says : " If you ask them' of their faith, nothing can be 
more Christian ; if you observe their conversation, nothing can be 
more blameless ; and what they speak, they prove by deeds." 

Egbert, a monk, says : " I have often disputed with these heretics ; 
they are they who are commonly called Cathari." 

It will be observed that all who deny the Roman Church, are 
indiscriminately, and by that authority, called heretics. 

" They are armed with all those passages of holy Scripture which 
seem to favor their views ; and with these they know how to defend 

28 



218 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

themselves, and oppose the Catholic truth. They are increased to 
great multitudes throughout all countries ; their words eat like a 
canker." 

In a work called " The Noble Lesson," written by one of the 
Cathari, he says : " If a man love those who desire to love God and 
Jesus Christ ; if he will neither curse nor swear, nor act deceitfully, 
nor live in lewdness and injustice, nor avenge himself of his ene- 
mies, they presently say, ' The man is a Vandes.' " 

These extracts, from the enemies of the Christians in the twelfth 
century, resemble, very strikingly, Pliny's letter to Trajan, A. D. 106. 

Popery, at this time, was reaching its zenith ; people, prelates, 
and princes were made to bow before its dominant sway. Every 
symptom of opposition was hunted, and silenced if possible. Fluen- 
tius, Bishop of Florence, taught publicly that Antichrist was born 
and come into the world : on which account Pope Paschal II. held 
a council there in 1105, reprimanded the bishop, and enjoined upon 
him silence on that subject; thereby proving himself to be the 
very Antichrist. 

Henry II., of England, crouched to the Pope, and even aided the 
King of France in persecuting the Cathari. Thirty of them, men 
and women, from Germany, came into England in 1159, and were 
there brought before a council of clergy at Oxford. 

Gerard, their teacher, a man of learning, said that they were 
Christians, and believed in the doctrine of the apostles. They ab- 
horred the doctrine of purgatory, of prayers for the dead, and of the 
invocation of saints. 

Henry, in conjunction with the council, ordered them to be branded 
with a hot iron on the forehead ; to be whipped through Oxford ; 
to have their clothes cut short by their girdles, and to be turned 
into the open fields ; and likewise forbade any one, under severe 
penalties, to shelter or relieve them. It was in the depth of winter, 
and they all perished through cold and hunger. These poor Ger- 
mans consoled themselves in their distress, with the promise, Blessed 
are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven. Gerard had an additional brand on the chin. 

Galdinus, Bishop of Milan, who had inveighed against the Cath- 
ari for eight or nine years of his episcopacy, died in 1173, of an ill- 
ness contracted through the excess of his vehemence in preaching 
against them. 

Surely papal and pagan Rome were not unlike each other. 

The power of the clergy grew at last to be so great and intol- 
erant, that Henry undertook to restrain it somewhat, when he 
received the most determined resistance from Thomas a Becket, first 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 219 

chancellor, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. Such was his 
insolence and domineering conduct, that he was finally slain before 
the altar, whither he fled for protection. 

Becket is represented by some as a hero and a martyr ; by others, 
as a hypocrite and a traitor. 

Joachim, — Abbot of Calabria, asserted that Antichrist was born 
in the Roman State, and would be exalted to the Apostolic See. 

Good proof of this is seen in a bull issued by Innocent III., in 
1197, declaring it was not fit that any man should be invested with 
authority who did not revere and obey the holy See. 

Arnulph, — A presbyter, came to Rome and declaimed against 
the Papacy. Knowing that his life was forfeited thereby, he said : 
" Nor is it to be wondered at, that you should kill me, a sinful man, 
who speaks to you the truth, since if St. Peter himself were to rise 
from the dead and rebuke your multiplied enormities, ye would not 
spare him." 

Arnulph was secretly murdered, 1135. 

Bernard — Is noticed as a great character in this age, but it 
requires some skill to harmonize the elements of his greatness ; for, 
pious, learned, and influential as he was, he threw it all into the fanat- 
icism of the crusades, and the persecuting to death of the scattered 
sheep of Christ, whenever the wolves of the Papacy could find them. 
— 1145 A. C. 

Such, with a variety of other incidents not here related, go to show 
what was the domineering, persecuting character of Constantine's 
church in the twelfth century. It had continued to gain strength, 
power, influence, and awe, over the whole of Europe, causing thrones 
to tremble before it, unless they rendered it obeisance and tribute. 
Thus it not only mingled civil and ecclesiastical matters, but dom- 
ineered in both, and persecuted all who would not acknowledge her 
authority. 

On the other hand, those who strove to spread the peaceable fruits 
of righteousness among the benighted and barbarous, and maintain the 
simplicity of the truth, as taught by the Saviour and his apostles, 
were by the Roman Hierarchy denominated heretics, and put to 
far greater torture and ignominy than murderers and all vagabonds. 

Still, among these very despised people, the Lord preserved the 
holy seed in the world ; and through them, in the dark ages, from 
Claude of Turin, to Peter Waldo, was the light of divine truth, 
and all the semblance to the apostolic faith and manners, preserved. 
No reformers are found in this period, though there were many who 
loved, believed, and preached the truth boldly, and many more who 
counted not their lives dear unto them. 



220 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

So that, in England and Europe, through all this ecclesiastical 
night, the truth and life of Christianity were not extinguished ; nei- 
ther had it been up to the time of Claude, nor do we find it hence- 
forth. 

In future we shall find not only those who hold the truth, but 
spread it ; not only stand aloof from the Church of Rome, but com- 
bat and demolish some of her strongholds, though she, at the same 
time, doubles her diligence to extend and establish her dominion. 

Peter Waldo. — This eminent servant of God stands next to 
Claude of Turin, in the class of reformers : second only in time, not 
in zeal or love for the cause, nor in sacrifice and devotion. 

Waldo began his labors in 1160. He is said to have been an opu- 
lent merchant of Lyons, in France. One evening, after supper, as 
he sat conversing with a company of his friends, one of them sud- 
denly fell and expired. Such a lesson on the uncertainty of life, 
forcibly impressed the mind of Waldo, and led to that serious reflec- 
tion on divine things, which resulted in his conversion. 

Religion, true to itself, not only filled the mind of the merchant 
with joy, but inspired him with evangelical and godlike desire for the 
salvation of others. To this end he gave up mercantile life, distrib- 
uted his goods among the poor, as occasion presented, and devoted 
his energies to extending a knowledge of the one thing needful. 

Looking in vain for the knowledge of divine things he longed after, 
he at last found the treasure in the Scriptures. But he was not satis- 
fied merely with possessing and reading the Bible himself, which was 
in no more common language than the Latin, and that not understood 
by common pople ; his countrymen must have it too. 

Upon this, he gave his efforts to the work of translation, — not 
afraid, as no good man and true is, to allow the people to have the 
Bible. In the translation of the Scriptures, Waldo stands next to 
Jerome, — the Septuagint being the first translation of the Scriptures, 
the Vulgate the second (by Jerome), and the French the fourth 
(by Waldo). 

Athelstan, a king of England, caused a third translation of the 
Bible to be made, in the tenth century, into the Saxon tongue. 

A careful study of the Bible revealed to him the enormities of the 
Church of Rome. He could see the difference between the simplic- 
ity of the apostolic faith and practice, and the complicated supersti- 
tions of the Papacy. Upon this, he lifted his voice in fearless denun- 
ciation of Rome, raising, in contrast, the standard of revelation. 

His preaching, and the distribution of the Scriptures, had the effect, 
under God, of multiplying believers greatly. His labors and success 
did not long pass unnoticed. One of his enemies said of him, by 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 221 

way of accusation, " Being somewhat learned, lie taught the people 
the text of the New Testament." A crime of which the popish 
clergy were entirely innocent. 

A fearful storm of persecution was raised against him and his dis- 
ciples, on account of which they were compelled to flee from Lyons, 
in A. D. 1163. 

Ireneus was Bishop of Lyons, and was martyred there in 202. 

Waldo and his followers were driven out of Lyons, by order of 
Pope Alexander III., who ordered the archbishop of the city to pro- 
ceed against him with the utmost rigor. O, apostolic Pope ! 

The scattering of the Waldenses was similar to that of the 
church at Jerusalem, in the persecution of Stephen ; and the effects 
were much the same. For, like the primitive disciples, the Wal- 
denses " went everywhere preaching the Word." Some of his fol- 
lowers united with the Vaudois, of Piedmont, carrying the rich 
treasure of the Scriptures in the native tongue. Waldo himself, it is 
thought, never visited Piedmont. 

He retired into Dauphiny, where his doctrines took deep and last- 
ing hold of the people. 

His disciples, who were many then, were called Leonists, Vaudois, 
Albigenses, and Waldenses. Meeting the spirit and power of perse- 
cution in Dauphiny, he was driven into Picardy ; from thence he was 
driven into Germany. At length settling in Bohemia, he remained 
there until his death in 1179, after a ministry of nearly twenty years. 

So passed away this great light in a dark age ; but the results of 
his labors were felt for a long time after, 

Waldenses. — The dispersion of the Waldenses served the pur- 
poses of God far better than it did of their enemies. Extermination 
was their aim, while, under the fostering care of God, they spread 
their principles abroad, and multitudes became obedient to the faith. 
In the south of France, in Switzerland, Germany, and the Low Coun- 
tries, thousands embraced their sentiments. In Bohemia alone, it is 
computed, there were eighty thousand of these Christians, in the 
year 1315. 

The sentiments of those Christians, found by the Waldenses in 
Piedmont, Germany, and elsewhere, were so nearly the same, that 
they all merged together when near each other, and soon they all 
passed by the same name among their enemies ; showing that the 
Bible produces the same fruits in those that believe, whether preached 
by John, Paul, Claude, or Waldo. 

The Waldenses were traduced by their enemies, and had heaped 
upon them all manner of invectives, such as — " Poor men of Lyons," 
" Dogs," " Cut-purses," " Insabaths," — for not keeping saints' days 



222 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

as Sabbaths. In Germany they were called " Gazares," " flagitiously 
wicked," " Tnrlupins," " livers with wolves," " Arians," and " Rib- 
alds," " dissolute men," etc., etc. 

But their enemies, speaking of them, say : " Heretics are known by 
their manners ; in behavior they are composed and modest, and no 
pride appears in their apparel." "It much strengthens the Wal- 
denses, that, their heresy excepted, they generally live a purer life 
than other Christians." " I say that in morals and life they are 
good : true in words and unanimous in brotherly love ; but their 
faith is incorrigible and vile, as I have shown in my treatise." 

Hold ! Mr. Witness : " By their fruits ye shall know them." 

Rienerius, a cruel persecutor of the Waldenses, says : " They fre- 
quently read the holy Scriptures, and, in their preaching, cited the 
words of Christ and his apostles concerning love, humility, and other 
virtues." 

Jacob de Riberia says, he " knew peasants who could repeat the 
Book of Job by heart ; and several others who could repeat the 
whole New Testament perfectly." Some learned men sent to dispute 
with the Waldenses, on return, would declare that they had learned 
more of the Bible from the answers they would receive from them, 
than they ever knew before. Thuanus says of them : " Their cloth- 
ing is skins of sheep ; . . . . they live in houses with their cattle, 
having a fence between ; they have, besides, two caves ; in one they 
conceal themselves, in the other their cattle, when hunted by their 

enemies One thing is astonishing, that persons externally so 

savage and rude, should have so much moral cultivation. They can 
all read and write. They understand French, so far as is needful for 
the understanding of the Bible and the singing of psalms. . . . They 
pay tribute with a good conscience, and the obligation of this duty 
is peculiarly noted in the confession of their faith." 

Are not these Christ's flock? — in "sheep skins," in "dens and 
caves," afflicted and tormented ? 

As to their doctrines, the fore^oinoj testimonials are enough to 
show them to have been uncorrupt. They, with all Protestants, 
took the Scriptures for their only and all-sufficient rule of faith and 
practice. 

And from their connection with the true Church of Christ, as has 
been shown all along, their separation from Popery, and abhorrence 
and opposition to it unceasingly, we may regard them and the Scrip- 
tures as "two witnesses clothed in sackcloth," or God's true people, 
cast down but not destroyed, — a standing witness against Anti- 
christ. 

" Before they go to meat, the elder among them says : ' God who 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 223 

blessed the five barley loves and two fishes before his disciples in 
the wilderness, bless this table and that which is set upon it, in the 
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' After meat, he says : 
t The God which has given us bodily food, grant us his spiritual life ; 
and may God be with us and we with him always.' After their 
meals they teach and exhort one another." 

Rienarius, their enemy, declares that " a certain Waldensian here- 
tic, with a view of turning a person from the Catholic faith, swam 
over the river in the night, and in the winter, to come to him to 
teach him the novel doctrines." 

Not quite so bad as to have burnt him alive, in order to persuade 
him over, as Rienarius would have done ! 

The persecutions they endured were the more violent, inasmuch 
as kings had become subject to the Pope. In 1162, two years 
after Waldo began to preach in Lyons, Louis VII. of France, and 
Henry II. of England, holding the bridle of the horse of Pope 
Alexander VIL, walking one on one side and the other on the other 
side, conducted him to his habitation. " Exhibiting," says the Rom- 
ish author, Baronius, " a spectacle most grateful to God, to angels, and 
to men." 

Thus the kings of the earth gave their " power and strength to 
the beast ; " and so, princes and people being enslaved to the pope- 
dom, true Christians were persecuted with savage barbarity. 

The increase of the Walclenses was a matter of notoriety and 
alarm to the Pope and his adherents. Measures of the greatest vio- 
lence were resorted to, in order to check and reduce them. In 1181, 
Pope Lucius III. issued his edict anathematizing them, and all who 
should give them support. In 1194, Idelfonso, King of Spain, fol- 
lowed the Pope's fiendish example, adding to it, that it was high 
treason to be present to hear their ministers preach. 

Thus matters stood at the close of the twelfth century, ripening 
for the climax of iniquity in the next. What striking examples of 
the power of delusion are to be seen in the growing monstrosities 
of the Papacy ! 

Century thirteenth gives us a view of the highest elevation to 
•which the papal power arose. God's purpose in permitting this 
great apostasy to continue and grow so long, was, evidently, to 
make it crush itself; and then, during its ruin, " build his church, 
against which hell shall not prevail." 

The popes found that edicts, anathemas, and fire and sword, were 
not sufficient to prevent the increase of the Waldenses, and that still 
more vigorous measures must be adopted in order to suppress them. 

The new measure adopted was, the appointment of a number of per- 



224 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

sons, who inquired out (and from this were called inquisitors) the 
number, strength, and riches of heretics, and reported them to the 
bishop in whose diocese they were found, for him to anathematize, 
banish, or chastise. But the bishops were not all hearty enough 
in the work ; they moved too slowly to answer the Pope's desires. 

The concentration of this important work into fewer hands, was 
evidently what must be done. A character was found, equal to the 
task, who should be entrusted with the command of this new scheme 
of extirpation. Dominic, a Spaniard by birth, was appointed chief 
inquisitor; and now an independent instrument is brought into play, 
known by the name of the Holy (all but the holy !) Inquisition. 
Being taken out of the hands of the bishops, and put under the 
control of the Pope, with Dominic as his agent, it soon began to 
send up the smoke of its torments. 

The Inquisition was established in 1206, under the sanction of 
Pope Innocent (if i?inocent) III., — just six hundred years from the 
appointment of the first Pope, Boniface III., 606, by Phocas. 

The birth of the Inquisition being secured, its baptism soon fol- 
lowed ; and that, too, in the blood of the Waldenses. The holy (?) 
instrument received the sanction of popes and princes, and at its 
work it went. The order of Dominicans has furnished the world 
with a set of inquisitors, in comparison with whom all who had dealt 
in tortures in former times were but novices. 

Papal bishops and Pagan emperors on a level. 

An epitome of the inquisitorial proceedings will suffice as a clue to 
their general character always. The persons in charge of this infer- 
nal machine were men from whose hearts the last feeling of compas- 
sion had departed, and blindly and brutally devoted to the interests 
of the Papacy. 

Falling into the hands of such characters, nothing but their tender 
mercies, which are cruelty, could be expected. At first, the jDrisoner 
(who is any one whom the suspicions of inquisitors may indicate) is 
seized, remanded to jail, and searched and robbed with impunity and 
indignity. When brought before the tribunal, he is asked what he 
will have done. A trial is asked. In reply, the inquisitor says : 
" Your hearing is this : confess the truth, conceal nothing, and rely 
on our mercy." 

If he confesses anything, that establishes his guilt ; if he refuses, 
then he is an obstinate heretic. So he is guilty anyhow. What 
mercy " our mercy" is ! 

If any confess they are heretics (i. 6., Christians), then they are 
condemned ; if they confess they are Catholics, then they are re- 
quired to answer a list of questions verbally, without premeditation ; 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 225 

the answers being taken down in writing. Then the list is to be 
answered in writing by the person himself; and if there is not a per- 
fect agreement between the verbal and written answers, then he is 
accused of dissembling; he is guilty. If there is an agreement, 
then he is charged with premeditated artifice ; then he is guilty. 
So it is impossible to escape. 

The sentence of those they do find guilty, is either to be whipped, 
violently tortured, sent to the galleys, or sentenced to death ; and in 
either case (i. e., all cases) their effects are confiscated. After sentence 
is passed, a procession is formed to the place of execution, which cere- 
mony is called " Auto da fe," or Act of Faith. Shades of Peter ! 

Kings were compelled to be present and witness these executions, 
and the chief inquisitor conducted the whole affair in such a way as 
to indicate that his authority and dignity were above those of the 
king. 

The Christian heroism of those who suffered, often drew from the 
amazed spectators the lamentation that such heroic souls had not 
been more enlightened ! Very like the scenes in the amphitheatre 
of pagan Rome in the third century. 

The humane (? !) inquisitors only allowed the torture to be used 
three times, — death, or decrepitude for life, being the result. 

The condemned was taken into a cell with stifled walls to deaden his 
cries, immediately seized by six wretches, placed upon his back upon 
a table, an iron collar put about his neck, one on each wrist and 
ankle, and then two small ropes put around each arm, and each 
thigh, and the ends passed through holes in the table, and all drawn 
tight by four of the men, at the same instant, on a given signal ; 
thus cutting the flesh in such a manner as to draw blood at eight 
places. If no confession is made, this tightening of ropes is repeated 
four times. This is the first torture. 

The wretches finding, after a few weeks, that all their trouble has 
the effect only to make the prisoner pray the more fervently for aid 
from Heaven to endure his trials, he is a^ain brought to torture. 

He is then taken, and, by means of cords, his arms are drawn 
backward until the backs of the hands touch behind him ; the shoul- 
ders are dislocated; the blood runs from the mouth of the heretic.(?) 
This is repeated three times, if no confession is made. He is again 
remanded to his dungeon, where the physician adds to his pain by 
brutally setting his dislocated limbs. This is the second torture. 

In two months after, the prisoner was again taken and placed upon 
a board, with a chain around his body, crossed upon his breast, ex- 
tended to the wrists, and then attached to pulleys, so that, when 
drawn, the breast was bruised in proportion as the chain was tight- 

29 



226 history or religion. 

ened, — the wrists and shoulders being dislocated. This was repeated 
twice. This was the third and last torture ; the laws of the institu- 
tion allowing only three ! The above is from the statements of one 
who passed through the infernal portico, and was released at an 
"Auto dafe." 

Females were put to the same excruciating tortures, with the 
addition of the most shocking indecencies. 

Branches of the " Holy Inquisition" were soon scattered over the 
country, like post-offices, wherever the Waldenses were to be found, 
and put into full blast. 

An account of the Apostolic Inquisition is shorter; thus: "Know- 
ing, therefore, the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men." Dominic 
says: Knowing, therefore, the terrors of the Pope, we torture men. 
Who would suppose the latter to be a successor of the former ? 

Other modes of torture were added, from time to time, by way 
of improvement, — racking, burning, etc. 

An effort was made about 1206, to reduce the Albigenses of Tou- 
louse, France, then under the government of Count Raymond. Dis- 
putants were sent to confound and disprove the doctrines of the 
Albigenses, and also a demand to Raymond to expel them from his 
dominion. This he refused to do, as they were good subjects; 
hence he was interdicted, and force was to succeed the use of milder 
means, The Albigenses, seeing the turn things were about to take, 
gave the disputants of the Pope a challenge to a public discussion. 

Montreal was the place chosen for the discussion. Arnold Hot 
appeared for the Albigenses, and Eusus for the Pope, accompanied by 
Dominic, and two legates. The points Arnold proposed to prove 
were, that the Mass and Transubstantiation were idolatrous and un- 
scriptural ; that the Church of Rome w T as not the spouse of Christ ; 
and that its polity was bad and unholy. 

Eusus asked fifteen days to answer, which was granted. At the 
appointed day he appeared, and brought with him a large manu- 
script, which he read in the conference. Arnold wished to reply by 
word of mouth. He discoursed for four days, with such fluency, 
readiness, and with such order, perspicuity, and strength of argu- 
ment, that a powerful impression was made on the audience. 

During the debate, the umpire of the papal party declared there 
could be nothing determined, on account of the coming of the 
Crusaders. 

The instructions given by Pope Innocent to the army, were : "We 
exhort you, that you would endeavor to destroy the wicked heresy 
of the Albigenses, and to do this with more rigor than you would use 
towards the Saracens themselves. Persecute them with a strong 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 227 

hand ; deprive them of their lands and possessions ; banish them, 
and put Roman Catholics in their room." The persecution of the 
Albigenses continued until 1281. 

In 1229, a council was held at Toulouse ; one of the canons passed 
was, that the laity should not be allowed to have the Old or New 
Testament in the vulgar tongue ; and it forbade men even to trans- 
late the Scriptures! 

In the council at Lambeth, in 1281, the cup, in the Communion, 
was denied the laity, for the very grave reason, that Christ was 
given all and entire in the bread. This was a prop to tran substan- 
tiation. 

Query : If Christ is to be had entire in the bread, why does the 
priest need any wine f 

This is the first popish denial of the Scriptures to the laity. 
Protestants and reformers translate and distribute them, while Papists 
and inquisitors burn and prohibit them. Without entering into 
detail of the sufferings of the Albigenses, suffice it to say, that one 
can scarcely conceive the scenes of baseness, perfidy, barbarity, 
indecency, and hypocrisy, over which Innocent III. and his imme- 
diate successors presided. 

During these persecutions, many of the Albigenses crossed over 
the Alps, and settled in some of the Spanish provinces, where they 
flourished for several years. They built churches, and their ministers 
jDreached their doctrines publicly and boldly. But, in due time, the 
inquisitors followed them, and for a century and a half preyed upon 
them like hungry wolves upon the flock. 

An attempt was made to introduce the Inquisition into Piedmont ; 
but the proceedings of that infernal thing in France, opened the 
eyes of the j)eople, and they, with their princes, steadily refused it 
admittance. 

Of the Waldenses it can be said, that they are the seed of the 
primitive churches ; and though persecuted by, yet never bowed to 
the dominion of the Church of Rome, and never observed its 
idolatrous rites. 

Dominic was also the inventor of the Rosary. The practice 
of repeating prayers had already obtained, and was often made 
use of. A certain privilege, as the priest might direct, could be 
attained by the repetition of so many " Pater-nosters," or Ave- 
Marias ; " and again, certain penances could be discharged by the 
same rule ; hence how vastly important the principle, for both priest 
and people. 

In order to secure exactness among the people, and relieve them 
of remembering the number and order of their prayers, the rosary 



228 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

(or " beads ") was invented. By holding this in the hand, and repeat- 
ing a prayer to each one, it is easy to know when duty is done. 

Cardinal Hugo wrote comments on the whole Scriptures, and hon- 
estly exposed the impiety and wickedness of the ecclesiastics of his 
time ; is said to have been the inventor of concordances, — of 
vastly more value to the world than the rosary. 

Grosseteste was another character similar to Bernard : a man of 
genius, of godly phrases, of pungent reproofs to popes ; but merged 
all his greatness into the interests of Popery. 

No one would, seemingly, be and do all these opposite and con- 
tradictory things, unless he were a coward, hypocrite, or a dupe. If, 
however, it be possible for a man to endorse the popish faith, and be 
a true man of God, doubtless Grosseteste was such an one. 

CENTURY FOURTEENTH. 

The year 1300 marks the highest summit of papal arrogance. Its 
tendency, as shown hitherto, has uniformily been to wax worse and 
worse, in presumption and assumption. But even such a growth, 
like a putrefying sore, must either break itself and heal, or leave the 
patient to languish, or take life at once. So Popery came to its full 
measure, and was checked. 

The See of Rome having been vacant for two and a half years, 
Celestine, a monk, was unanimously chosen Pope, on account of his 
chastity. No Pope since Gregory had entered the office with more 
purity of intention. But, not having the talents of Gregory for busi- 
ness and government, and the Papacy being full grown with cor- 
ruption, Celestine was bewildered with his lot. He accepted the 
office reluctantly, held it tremblingly, and left it joyfully. 

Celestine asked the opinion of Cardinal Cajetan, if the Pope could 
abdicate. Being answered in the affirmative, he retired. Before 
retiring, however, he made a constitution, providing for the abdica- 
tion of the Pontiff at pleasure. No Pope since, however, has availed 
himself of the provisions of that instrument. 

Cajetan contrived to empty the chair of Peter, and then contrived 
to fill it with himself, and took the title of Boniface VIII. His name 
stands at the summit of the papal force ; beginning with him also, 
a decline, above which it has never since risen. 

Fearing that Celestine might change his mind and purpose of 
abdication, Boniface sent him to the Castle of Fumone, under a 
guard of soldiers, where he was kept and annoyed, until a fever 
ended his days. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 229 

Of Boniface it is said, he entered the pontificate like a fox, lived 
like a lion, and died like a dog. 

Like Celestine, he also left a constitution, as follows : " That the 
Roman Pontiff ought to be judged by none, though, by his conduct, 
he draw innumerable souls with him to hell." Shades of St. Peter! 
Not much like Celestine, and still less like the apostles. 

But the most remarkable encounter, and fatal blow, Boniface 
received, was from Philip IV. of France. 

It is a singular circumstance that the kings of France were the 
first to uphold the popes, and do so from time to time, and also the 
first to abuse and confront them, and that, too, from time to time, 
from Pepin to Bonaparte. 

Philip was distinguished for ambition, dissimulation, perfidy, and 
cruelty, and engaged in continual contests ; just the man, however, 
for the age. He attempted to raise money from the clergy as well 
as the people. This brought Boniface to his feet. He entertained 
such attempts by Philip with the most haughty disdain ; wrote him 
the most insulting letters, declaring that "The Vicar of Christ is 
vested with full authority over kings and kingdoms on the earth ; 
and that he and all other princes were, by a divine (Boniface's) com- 
mand, obliged to submit to the authority of the popes, as w T ell in 
political and civil matters as those of a religious nature." The 
"divine command," to which Boniface did not refer, is this : " Render, 
therefore, unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's ; and to God the 
things that are God's." 

Philip, indignant at the insolence of Boniface, denounced him as 
an impostor, heretic, and Simoniac, and declared the See of Rome 
vacant. He sent a party who seized the Pope, and compelled him 
to ride a horse without saddle or bridle, and his face turned towards 
his tail! The mortification of this affair, with the loss of his 
treasure, threw Boniface into a frenzy, of which he died. 

Philip then managed to get a Frenchman appointed Pope, and 
transferred the seat of the Papacy from Rome to Avignon, in France, 
where it continued for seventy years. The Italians called this " The 
Babylonish Captivity of the Holy See." 

Thomas Bradwardine — Is reckoned a great light in his day. 
He was Proctor of the University of Oxford in 1325. He appears 
to have been a pious, modest, studious man. His writings were par- 
ticularly directed against a rationalism of his time, interwoven 
strongly with Pelagianism. 

Besides his polemical theology, he wrote on the leading doctrines 
of evangelical faith. He did much to render the doctrine of human 
merit less popular, and exalting justification by faith. 



230 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Hence, as God had overruled that Popery should poison itself 
with its own fangs, he took care also to nourish trees of his own 
right hand's planting. 

In 1378 occurred the great Western Schism. 

The Eastern Schism was the rupture at Constantinople, about the 
source of the Holy Ghost, or division of the Latin and Greek 
churches, in 1054. 

The Western Schism was the election of two popes at the same 
time, one at Avignon and one at Rome ; each Pope and his party 
claiming the real succession. 

From this time to 1414 the Papacy continued to have two and 
sometimes three different heads., each claiming to be the real Pope, and 
all forming plots and thundering out anathemas against each other. 

Surely, the Catholics were for once afflicted with that Protestant 
infelicity, " quarrelling among themselves." And whether the Pope 
chosen at Rome, Urban VI., or the one at Avignon, Clement VII., 
were the real one, is still a matter of dispute. 

In this whole affair, the pnpal power received an incurable wound. 

Kings and princes, who had formerly been the slaves of the lordly 
pontiffs, now became their judges and masters ; and the people, 
even among the more stupid, came at length to despise the popes 
for their disputes. 

Did ever the apostle Paul get into such a freak with Nero, as 
Boniface, Paul's pretended successor, did with Philip ? The fusion 
of church and state is utterly impracticable. 

The authority of the Poj>e gained some ground in England at this 
time. Upon King John the Pope succeeded in fixing an annual 
tribute, thus reducing him to the condition of a vassal. Ashamed 
of vassalage, it was denied, in name, yet the tribute was paid until 
Edward III., when it was ripped up, the tribute withheld, and those 
outlawed w T ho dared appeal to Rome. 

Wickliffe. — A mightier champion than Bradwardine or Bernard, 
appeared for truth and against error, in the person of John Wick- 
liffe, born in Yorkshire in 1324. He did not, like them, claim to 
teach purer doctrine than the clergy, openly rebuke them for their 
errors and crimes, and still continue with them, favor their perse- 
cutions and share the spoils ; but, rather, numbered himself with 
Claude and Waldo, as an earnest reformer. For, placing them as 
they justly belong in the scale, as first and second, Wickliffe deserves 
to be ranked as third. 

He was not only one of the " Fathers of the Reformation," by his 
numerous writings, fearless and successful exposure of the wicked 
and unchristian pretensions of the Popes and prelates, and the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 231 

extreme corruption of the Roman Church, but especially as he was 
the first to translate the Scriptures into the English tongue. Like 
Waldo, he translates the Scriptures into the spoken language. 

WicklhTe was a prodigy of learning in that dark age. He was 
Professor of Divinity at Oxford, which university he defended against 
the insolent pretensions of the mendicant friars. He boldly re- 
monstrated with the Pope on account of his exorbitant tithes, 
which, upon various pretences, it is said amounted to much more 
than the nation paid in taxes to the king. He rendered the great- 
est possible service to true religion, by translating the whole Bible 
into English, by which the Scriptures were unfolded to the people, 
and a permanent foundation laid for the upbuilding of the cause of 
Christ, and the uprooting of papal superstition. The revival (as a 
consequence of an appeal to the Scriptures) of the great doctrine 
of justification by faith, through the redemption, that is in Christ 
Jesus, made his whole labors permanently lasting and useful. 

Every possible effort was made by popes and prelates not only to 
silence him, but to destroy him; but he was defended by the Duke 
of Lancaster and the people. The more he did to bring the Pope 
and clergy into odium for their abominations, the higher their wrath 
arose ; and for the same reasons, and in equal proportion, did the 
tide of parliamentary and popular favor swelj, so that Wickliffe was 
able to do bravely, and in safety, the work of reform. More than 
once his judges quailed before the popular favor shown the valiant 
reformer. He spent his last days in the discharge of pastoral duties, 
as Rector of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, where he died in peace, 
A. D. 1387. 

But the death of Wickliffe was not the death of his doctrines ; 
they were God's truth, reiittered and bravely defended in spite of 
envious priests, and hence would live and thrive. 

The old farce of " sealing the tomb, and making it fast and set- 
ting a watch," was acted over. In a popish council, at Constance, 
in 1415, by order of Pope Martin V., his doctrines were condemned, 
and about two hundred volumes of his books were ordered to be 
burnt ; and also, that if his bones could be distinguished from the 
rest, they were to be dug up and burnt to ashes ; which last was 
executed by Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, about twenty years after. 

One » writer observes, that, while they burnt his bones to ashes, 
and cast them into the Severn, which conveyed them to the ocean, 
his ashes thus became the emblem of his doctrine, which spread all 
over the world. 

All this did not avail the Papists much, for his works were 
sought, copied, and circulated all over Europe. Another compli- 



232 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

merit, bestowed upon him by the University of Oxford, made the 
burners of his bones still more infamous. 

It was as follows: "That all his conduct through life was sincere 
and commendable ; that his conversation, from his youth upward to 
the time of his death, was so praiseworthy and honest, that never, 
at any time, was there a particle of suspicion raised against him; 
and that he vanquished, by the force of the Scriptures, all such as 
slandered Christ's religion. God forbid that our prelates should 
condemn such a man as a heretic, who has written better than any 
others in the university, on logic, philosophy, divinity, morality, 
and the speculative arts." 

Such is an epitome of the life of this great reformer, — for such 
praise he merits, and all others, who not only differed from Eome, 
but actually raised the standard of the gospel, and also used just 
and severe weapons and measures against "Antichrist, and his 
clerks." A great man, and a great light in the fourteenth century. 

Passing into the fifteenth century, we shall find the doctrines and 
followers of Wickliffe, and the persecutions of their enemies. The 
term " Lollards," by which the followers of Wickliffe were known, 
is derived from the German Lullen, which signifies singing, or sing- 
ers ; arising from their custom of " speaking to each other in psalms, 
hymns, and spiritual songs." 

The fury of persecution against the Lollards was much stayed 
through the protection of the Duke of Lancaster, their " political 
father," and Ann, consort of Richard II., and sister of Wenceslaus, 
King of Bohemia. She is said to have possessed the Gospels in the 
English language, with four learned commentaries on them ; and is 
said, also, to have been very pious. Hence this queen was a nursing 
mother to the persecuted Lollards. 

The principal charge brought against the Lollards was that they 
held "speculative errors." Quite harmless ! But they were made to 
feel something more than speculative restraint from Henry IV., and 
Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry, like Pepin of France, 
usurped the throne, and Arundel, like Pope Zachary, said it was all 
right ; and so the latter couplet, like the former, united to crush the 
reformers. 

William Swaete — Was a clergyman of London, who openly 
taught the doctrines of Wickliffe, and opposed the abominations of 
Popery. For these two unpardonable crimes he was burnt at the 
stake. 

Henry IV. was the first English king who burnt his subjects for 
their religious opinions ; and was son of the Duke of Lancaster, who 
protected Wickliffe. Swarte was the first martyr under English kings. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 233 

Henry V., succeeding to the throne in 1413, also seconded the 
purposes of Arundel, in extirpating the Lollards by penal coercion. 

Lord Cobham. — In the first year of the new king's reign, this 
archbishop collected a universal synod of all the bishops and clergy 
of England, at St. Paul's Church, London. The object was to sup- 
press the growing sect; but the special object of the resentment of 
the whole synod was Lord Cobham (or Sir John Old castle). 

This nobleman made no secret of his opinions, and openly opposed 
the abuses of Popery. At great expense he had collected, tran- 
scribed, and distributed the works of Wickliffe among the common 
people ; and he even maintained itinerant preachers in the dioceses 
of Canterbury, Rochester, London, and Hereford. 

But Lord Cobham was a favorite of both the king and the people, 
and his overthrow required caution. The first attempt was to send 
delegates to Oxford, to ascertain which way the influence of that 
great seat of learning would be thrown ; and, to the mortification 
of the prelates, it favored Cobham, as it had done Wickliffe. But, 
nothing daunted, the enraged archbishop proceeded to burn a copy 
of each of Wickliffe's works, and among them one by Cobham. 
This volume proved Cobham to be a Lollard, and the bonfire was 
intended to influence the people against him. 

Previous pains having been taken to prejudice the people against 
him, it was suggested very gravely in the synod that the young 
king better be consulted upon the measures they had in view, before 
they proceeded any further ; accompanying their inquiry with a very 
urgent request, that his majesty would consent to the persecution of 
so incorrigible an offender. 

To this request the king listened ; but, in consideration of the high 
birth, military rank, and good services of Lord Cobham, the king 
desired the synod to delay a few days, that he might personally at- 
tempt the restoration of the lord to the church, without rigor or 
disgrace. 

The king made the effort, and, after using all his persuasion in 
vain, Cobham replied as follows : " You I am always ready to obey, 
because you are the appointed minister of God, and bear the sword 
for the punishment of evil doers. But as to the Pope and his spirit- 
ual dominion, I owe him no obedience, nor will I pay him any ; for 
as sure as God's word is true, to me it is fully evident that the Pope 
of Rome is the great Antichrist foretold in holy writ, the son of 
perdition, the open adversary of God, and the abomination standing 
in the holy place." * 

At this, Henry left Cobham to the malice of his enemies. Being 
cited by the archbishop to appear, Cobham paid no attention to it. 

30 



234 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

In the issue, he was arrested by the king's express order, and lodged 
in the tower of London. 

Cobham's distinction between the civil and ecclesiastical authority 
above, is precisely the same in spirit as Christ's injunction, " Render 
unto Caesar," etc. The reformers, and Christians in all ages, have 
recognized the same, and sealed it with their blood. The lord was 
far wiser than the king. 

At the first examination, the primate told the lord that he was 
before him convicted, but that clemency would be shown him should 
he meekly ask for it. 

In reply, Cobham took out a paper and read the substance of his 
faith, which contained a firm, yet not insolent, denial of the dogmas, 
of transubstantiation, penance, image-worship, and pilgrimages ; and 
then passed it to the archbishop. His reply to Cobham was little 
else than to reaffirm the importance of those popish dogmas. 

After disclaiming the offer of absolution from Arundel, Cobham 
kneeled down and prayed fervently to God for absolution ; rising, he 
exhorted the people to beware of these false teachers. 

This bold speech threw the court into some confusion ; but, recov- 
ering their self-possession, they went on to question him: "Do you 
believe that after the words of consecration, there remains any 
material bread ? " Says Cobham : " The Scriptures make no men- 
tion of material bread ; the bread is the thing we see with our 
eyes ; but the body of Christ is hid, and only to be seen -by faith." 
Upon which, with one voice, they cried, " Heresy ! heresy ! " One in 
particular said: "It is a foul heresy to call it bread." Cobham 
replied, smartly : " St. Paul, the apostle, was as wise a man as you, 
and perhaps as good a Christian, and yet he calls it bread." After 
reproving them sharply for their superstitions, Dr. Walden ex- 
claimed: "What rash and desperate people are these followers of 
Wickliffe ! " 

Cobham then declared that until he knew the doctrine of Wick- 
liffe, he was very sinful ; and would have remained so, finding no 
such grace in all your pompous instructions. Walden was surprised, 
that he found no such grace until he heard the devil preach. Cob- 
ham said : " Your fathers, the Pharisees, ascribed Christ's miracles 
to Beelzebub, and his doctrines to the devil." 

A friar asked him, if he would worship the real cross on which 
Christ was crucified. Said he: "Where is it?" — "But suppose it 
were here," said the friar. " What sort of worship do I owe it ? ,J 
says 'Cobham. "Such as St. Paul speaks of," said the friar: "God 
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ." Cobham 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 235 

replied that it was not the material cross he meant, but Christ's suf- 
ferings and death, in which Paul gloried. 

It is said the court were brought to a stand, "their wits and 
sophistry so failed them that day." 

But Arundel exhorted Cobham to weigh well the dilemma he 
was in; for "you must either submit to the ordinances of the 
church, or abide the dangerous consequences." 

Cobham replied : " My faith is fixed, — - do with me what you 
please." 

Arundel then pronounced him " an incorrigible, pernicious, and 
detestable heretic," and delivered him up to the civil authority. 

Cobham then cheerfully declared that all they could do was only 
to the body, and that God would take care of his soul ; then ex- 
horted the people to beware of these men, " for they will lead you 
blindfolded into hell with themselves." He then prays for the court : 
" Lord God Eternal ! I beseech thee of thy great mercy to forgive 
my persecutors, if it be thy blessed will." 

He was then sent back to the tower, under guard. 

Cobham, " for his integrity, was clearly beloved by the king ; " yet 
given over to his tormentors. 

Such was the popularity of Lord Cobham, that after the sentence 
was passed, Arundel, through fear of the people, asked the king to 
defer the execution for fifty days. Posters were then put up, de- 
claring his recantation, so as to diminish respect for him. 

Ere they were aware, the prisoner (like Peter) made a very sud- 
den and mysterious disappearance. Fleeing to Wales, he concealed 
himself for four years. His enemies then manufactured a report 
that he was secretly instigating a revolt, among the Lollards, 
against the king and government of England. 

To give this lie some plausibility, a plot was laid to apprehend a 
meeting of Lollards, in a thicket called St. Giles' Fields, where 
they often met at dead of night, as they were obliged to do to 
escape disturbance. On the evening of January 6, 1414, while 
gathered there for worship, a detachment of soldiers was sent 
against them, and the solemn farce of dispersing and apprehending 
the conspirators was fully carried out. 

From this time Cobham was represented as a traitor, and branded 
as guilty of high treason. And finally a bill of attainder passed the 
Commons against Cobham, through royal influence. The king set 
a price of a thousand marks upon his head, and a promise of per- 
petual exemption from taxes, to any town that should secure him. 
Through the (fiendish) diligence of Lord Powis and his semi-devils, 
Cobham was taken, near the end of 1417, and brought to London. 



236 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

He was now in the hands of a power that had declared hirn 
a heretic and traitor, and his fate was soon determined. He was 
dragged to St. Giles' Fields, suspended alive in chains upon a gal- 
lows, and burned to death, with circumstances of aggravated and 
disgusting cruelty. 

Chicheley became Archbishop of Canterbury upon the death of 
Arundel, 1414, and continued to be until 1443. For his cruelty and 
rashness he was notorious, " and deserves to be called the fire-brand 
of the age." Many were the worthies who suffered under the 
2)ersecutions of those times. 

It is almost incredible, that persons should be committed to the 
flames for such slight causes ; as, for example, the case of John 
Brown, of Ashford, in Kent. He suffered under William Wareham, 
Archbishop of Canterbury. His detection and offence were as fol- 
lows : Brown, happening to sit near a priest, on board a Gravesend 
barge, was rebuked by the inquiry : " Dost thou know who I am ? 
Thou sittest too near me ; thou sittest on my clothes." (!) Brown 
says: "No, sir, I know not what you are." — "I tell thee I am a 
priest." — " What, sir, are you a parson, a vicar, or a lady's chaplain ? " 
— " No, I am a soul-priest. I sing for souls ; " — i. e., sing for their 
deliverance from Purgatory. 

Says Brown : " Where do you find the soul, when you go to 
mass ?" — "I cannot tell thee." — " Where do you leave it, when mass 
is over ? " — "I cannot tell thee," said the priest, again. " How, then, 
can you save the soul? " asked Brown. — " Go thy way ; thou art a 
heretic. I will be even w T ith thee ! " said the stupid fellow. 

Three days after, while Brown was bringing a mess of pottage to 
his table for some guests who were dining with him, a party of the 
bishop's servants entered his house, took him out and put him upon 
his own horse, tying his feet under the horse's belly, took him to 
Canterbury, and kept him in close confinement forty days. Ware- 
ham, the archbishop, and Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, had caused 
his bare feet to be placed upon hot coals, until they were burnt to the 
bones. To his wife he then said : " The bishops, good Elizabeth, 
have burnt my feet until I cannot set them on ground, to make me 
deny my Lord ; but, I thank God, they will never be able to make 
me do that. Therefore, I pray thee, continue as thou hast begun, 
and bring up thy children in the fear of the Lord. Thy husband is 
to be consumed at the stake to-morrow." 

Thus were the Lollards treated by England's kings and archbishops. 

Johx Huss. — From England the writings of Wickliffe were car- 
ried, by an officer of Oxford, into Bohemia, where they were read 
by Huss, Rector of the University of Prague. These writings 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 237 

opened Huss's eyes ; and, being a man of great boldness and decision 
of character, he at once began to lay the axe of truth at the root of 
the upas of papal corruptions. His labors were successful in bring- 
ing many in Bohemia, and especially in the university, to embrace 
the doctrines of Wickliffe. 

How providential, that the great seats of learning were disposed 
to favor the cause of the gospel ! Their authority in those dark 
times was so nearly equal to the Pope's, that true religion was 
greatly aided by their means. But "great boldness in the faith" 
always stirs up fiery opposition. 

The introduction of Wickliffe's writings into the university, gave 
great offence to the Archbishop of Prague, and he at once began a 
war upon Huss. The archbishop, feeling the need of help, applied 
to the Pope, who ordered Huss to be cited to appear before him at 
Rome. Huss declined the citation, when excommunication followed. 
At this Huss redoubled his vigilance, both in the pulpit and by his 
pen. 

The archbishop then ordered all persons having Wickliffe's works 
to deliver them to him forthwith. Upon this demand, some two 
hundred volumes, finely written, adorned with costly covers and 
gold borders, were committed to the flames. This, however, had 
the opposite effect from what was intended ; for, thereupon, both 
the writings of Wickliffe and the disciples of Huss abounded, and 
became more and more numerous. 

" So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed." 

In the year 1414, the Council of Constance was called, remarkable 
for three things: the adjustment of the Papal Schism, and the con- 
demnation to the flames of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague. 

There were at this time three dignitaries scuffling for St. Peter's 
chair. The council thought best to put them all out, and chose a 
fresh successor to the apostolic (?) See of Rome — Martin V. In their 
haste to heal the schism, the council decreed the superiority of coun- 
cils over popes. So that, while they healed the schism, it left the 
Pope with his right arm of power firmly bound. The world had 
begun to think. This decree also gave the reformers, a few years 
after, a tremendous advantage. 

But Huss was summoned before the Council of Constance for 
believing, preaching, and circulating the doctrines of Wickliffe, 
though Rector of the University of Prague, Chaplain to the Queen 
of Bohemia, and an eminently useful preacher among his country- 
men. 

Being fearful of what might befall him at the council, he wrote a 
farewell letter to his friends, exhorting them to continue steadfast 



2-38 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

in the faith of Christ. After having received assurance from the 
Emperor Sigismund, under whose auspices even the council was 
assembled, to the effect that "he required all his subjects to suffer 
Huss to pass and repass secure, and, for the honor of his impe- 
rial MAJESTY, IF XEED BE, TO PROVIDE HLM WITH GOOD PASSPORTS," 

he departed. 

Accordingly Huss set out for the council, in the charge of Count 
John de Chlum, relying upon the emperor's "safe-conduct." Chlum 
immediately informed the Pope of Huss's arrival, and bespoke 
clemency in his behalf. This the Pope promised, and even removed 
his previous excommunication. 

But no sooner had Huss arrived at the palace, than he was seized 
and thrust into prison. Chlum made loud complaints to the Pope, 
but in vain. Incensed at the imprisonment of Huss, he wrote to 
Sigismund upon the subject. The emperor immediately sent express 
orders to his ambassadors to cause him to be set at liberty, and even 
to break the gates of the prison in case of resistance. But Huss 
was not released ; the Pope's clemency, the emperor's safe-conduct 
and express order to fetch him out, had no effect. 

Ah ! Sigismund was told that his conscience ought not to be bur- 
dened with this matter; that he was excused from keeping faith 
with a heretic ; and that for him to acquiesce in the desires of the 
venerable council was the proper line of conduct for an obedient 
and " good son of the church." 

And it was decreed that no promise ought, by human laws or 
divine, to be kept with Huss, to the prejudice of the Catholic faith! 
Holy fathers ! 

Huss was warned of this betrayal ; but he, in hope, had ventured 
all for the cause of divine truth. 

It may be considered quite sufficient to say, respecting Huss's 
doctrines, to show them to have been scriptural, that they were con- 
demned by the Council of Constance. Huss's views shared the same 
fate there as did Wickliffe's, and as would Peter Waldo's, Claude's, 
and others. 

A few specimens of his treatment while on trial may suffice also, 
without minute detail. One of their calumnies raised against Huss 
was, that " he exhorted the people to take up arms against those 
who opposed his doctrine." Huss replied, he exhorted the people 
" to put on the whole armor of the gospel, and fight the fight of 
faith." 

Sigismund then exhorted him to retract his errors, and that, rather 
than support him in his heresy, he would with his own hands kindle 
the fire to burn him ! Sigismund's " safe-conduct ! " " Punic faith I " 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 239 

At the close of the third day's examination, Chlum followed him 
to his prison. Huss exclaimed : " Oh ! what a comfort was it to me 
to see that this nobleman did not disdain to stretch out his arms to 
a poor heretic in irons, whom all the world, as it were, had forsaken." 

Few realize how much we of the nineteenth century are indebted 
to those noble reformers for the liberties we enjoy. 

Huss, deeming his end to be at hand, wrote letters to his flock, 
entreating them to adhere solely to God's word, and not to follow 
him if they had seen anything in him not agreeable to it. He 
begs them to be grateful to Chlum, and another nobleman, who had 
been faithful to him in his sufferings. He adds : " I hear no news 
from Jerome, except that he is a prisoner, like myself, waiting for 
the sentence of death." 

In reference to his books being burned, he remarked, that " Jere- 
miah's books shared the same fate." — Jer. 36:23, 

Huss was finally brought before the council, in the presence of the 
emperor, the princes of the empire, and an incredible concourse of 
people. In attempting to speak, he was interrupted, when he begged 
the privilege of speech, that he might justify himself before the 
people ; "after which you may dispose of me as you shall see fit." 
But the prelates refused ; when Huss knelt down, and, with a loud 
voice, recommended his cause to the Judge of all the earth. 

After a short space to speak, he closed by saying : " I came vol- 
untarily to this council, under the public faith of the emperor here 
present." As he uttered these last words, he looked earnestly at 
Sigismuncl, who blushed at the unexpected rebuke. Imperial tool! 

Sentence was now passed against both Huss and his books, and 
the mock ceremony performed, of clothing him with priests' gar- 
ments, and then taking away one by one, pronouncing with each 
one an appropriate (?!) curse. As the Jews arrayed and mocked 
Jesus, so did the prelates. 

A paper coronet was put upon his head, on which they had painted 
three devils and " Akch-Heretic," with the salutation, " We devote 
thy soul to the infernal devils." 

Huss replied : " I am glad to wear this crown of ignominy, for 
the love of Him who wore a crown of thorns." 

The final sentence of the council was : " The Holy (?) Synod of 
Constance declares, that John Huss ought to be given up to the sec-* 
ular power, and does so accordingly give him up, considering that 
the Church of God has no more to do with him." 

Sigismund committed the execution of Huss to the elector Pala- 
tine. Huss, walking amidst his guards, declared his innocence to 
the people. On arriving at the place of execution the elector pre- 



2^0 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

vented his addressing the people, and ordered him burned. Huss 
exclaimed : " Lord Jesus, I humbly suffer this cruel death for thy 
sake ; and I pray thee forgive all my enemies." 

Quite different sentiments from the council's : " We devote thy 
soul to the infernal devils ! " when Huss had clone them no harm, 
but reprove their sins. Oh, the malignity of infernalism ! 

The elector withdrawing, the fire was kindled, and Huss, calling 
upon God as long as he could speak, was soon suffocated. 

Jerome of Prague — Was a gentleman of fortune, and a man 
of eminent learning, which he had increased at Oxford. He en- 
couraged Huss in going to Constance, promising to follow and assist 
him if he got into trouble. This promise he fulfilled, and went there ; 
but, finding Huss in such bad hands that he could render him no 
service whatever, he returned to Bohemia. 

This act of favor to a "heretic," was enough to send his soul also 
"to the infernal devils," after having been first judged (?) by incar- 
nate fiends. Besides, he seconded Huss's endeavors to promote a 
reformation in Bohemia. 

Soon after his return, he was seized, led in chains to Constance 
(by the successors of Peter !), and brutally treated for a whole year. 

At his trial, a doctor of Cologne said : " You vented several errors 
in our university." — " Be pleased to name one." The doctor replied : 
" My memory fails me." Grave error ! Several pertinent and im- 
pertinent things were said, and when the prelates' " memories all 
failed them," they set up a roar, and voices from all quarters burst 
forth : " Away with him ! away with him ! To the fire ! to the fire ! 
Away with him ! away with him ! Crucify him ! crucify him ! " 
This was "nothing new under the sun." 

Jerome stood aghast, and cried aloud: "Since nothing but my 
blood will satisfy you, I am resigned to the will of God." In a few 
hours after, Wallenrod, Archbishop of Riga, caused him to be con- 
veyed to St. Paul's Church, where he was bound to a post, his hands 
chained to his neck, and so he remained ten days, fed upon bread 
and water. 

The examinations of " heretics" before the council, were only so 
many tirades of abuse. Being permitted to speak, he referred them 
to the unjust condemnation of ancient worthies, as Moses, Joseph, 
the prophets, John the Baptist, and the Saviour, and most of his 
apostles, and that himself was about to suffer at their hands an un- 
righteous sentence. "Ye have determined to condemn me unjustly; 
but after my death I shall leave a sting in your consciences, and a 
worm that shall never die." 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 241 

He voluntarily put the mitre on Lis own head, for the sake of Him. 
who wore a crown of thorns. 

He sang cheerfully as he went to the stake, and there knelt and 
prayed. Being bound, he sang a hymn : 

" Hail ! happy day, and ever be adored, 
When hell was conquered by great Heaven's Lord," etc. 

The executioner, so as not to be seen of Jerome, came behind him 
to light the fire. " Come forward, and put fire to it before my face," 
said the martyr. 

When almost smothered in the flames, he was heard to cry out : 
" O, Lord God ! have mercy on me, have mercy on me." Jerome's 
death occurred in A. D. 1416, the next year after Huss's. 

Between their deaths the Bohemians held an assembly, and 
addressed a letter to the Council of Constance, signed by sixty 
principal persons, barons, noblemen, and others, in part as follows: 

"We know not from what motive ye have condemned John Huss, 
bachelor of divinity, and preacher of the gospel. Ye have put him 
to a cruel and ignominious death, though convicted of no heresy. 
We wrote in his vindication to Sigismund, King of the Romans, 

.... but ye burnt it, we are told, in contempt of us John 

Huss was a man very honest, just, and orthodox : that for many 
years conversed among us with godly and blameless manners ; . . . 
after all our inquiry .... we find in him everything pious, lauda- 
ble, and worthy of a true pastor Ye have not only disgraced 

us by his condemnation, but have also unmercifully imprisoned, and 
perhaps already put to death, Jerome of Prague, a man of most 
profound learning and copious eloquence. .... We are resolved to 
sacrifice our lives for the defence of the gospel of Christ, and of his 
faithful preachers." 

L'Enfant, a Papist, after complimenting John Huss for having all 
the good qualities of a gentleman, scholar, hero, and Christian, said: 
"There is one thing, after all, that might expose him to condemna- 
tion with some show of justice, and that is, his inflexible obsti- 
nacy" 

The very words of Pliny to Trajan, in the first century: ". . . . 
yet for their inflexible obstinacy, certainly deserved punishment." 
Christianity is the same in all ages, and so is paganism, prelacy, and 
Popery. 

Poggius, Secretary to Pope John XXIII., who was present at the 
trials and deaths of these two men, says of Jerome: "I never saw 
the art of speaking carried so near the model of ancient eloquence. 

31 



242 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

.... With surprising dexterity, he warded off every stroke of his 
adversaries. 

(' It shall be given you in that hour what ye shall say.') 

" . . . . Nothing escaped him ; his whole behavior was truly great 
and pious. 

". . . . He lamented the cruel and unjust death of that holy 
man, John Huss, and said he was armed with a full resolution to 
follow the steps of that blessed martyr. 

" .... It was impossible to hear this pathetic orator without 

emotion Throughout his whole oration, he showed a most 

amazing strength of memory His voice was sweet and full, 

and his action every way proper If there be any justice in 

history, this man will be admired by all posterity. I call him a pro- 
digious man, and the epithet is not extravagant. I was an eye- 
witness of his whole behavior, and could easily be more prolix on a 
subject so copious." 

Thank you, Poggius. Still they burnt those fellows ! 

Aretin, to whom he wrote these things, says: "You attribute to 
this man more than I could wish. You ought at least to weite more 
cautiously of these things." 

Who can fail to see that these martyrs were the true followers and 
apostles of the Lord ? The gospel has never, up to this time, been 
without disciples and advocates. 

Some considerable show at reformation of abuses was made by the 
council, but in such a way as to give no offence, and still quiet out- 
siders with the idea, that there was no need of such men as Huss, when 
the church was doing the clean thing. (?) 

Like St. Bernard, make much ado, and yet do nothing. Or thus: 
Repent, and reform of your enormities, ye holy sons of the church. 

In 1418, the Council of Constance closed ; having, as the result of 
their labors, deposed three popes ; decreed that councils hold author- 
ity above popes ; showed themselves the veriest knaves, in violating 
safe conducts ; kindled freely the fires of martyrdom ; condemned the 
doctrines of Wickliffe ; made a mock at reform ; chosen a new Pope, 
Martin V., and then dissolved. 

Hussites. — Whenever the Papists had disposed of any prominent 
leader, they next turned upon his followers. This was the fearful 
doom of the Hussites. 

Their memorial to the Council of Constance only brought them 
directly under the set purpose of the council, to extirpate all who 
should favor the doctrine of Huss. Upon this, orders were issued to 
all the friends of the Papacy in Bohemia, to assist in exterminating 
heretics. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 243 

This opened afresh, and at large, the horrors of persecution. Burn- 
ing, drowning, and torture were the papal arguments to recantation, 
A Hussite clergyman, with three farmers and four boys, was laid 
upon a pile of wood ; when called upon to abjure, he replied : " God 
forbid ! We would, if it were possible, endure death not once only, 
but an hundred times, rather than deny the truth of the gospel, sol- 
emnly revealed in the Bible." Clasping the children in his arms, he 
began a hymn of praise, in which all joined, till they were suffocated 
by the flames. From Bohemia, the savage spirit of persecution fol- 
lowed the Hussites into all places, wherever they w T ere to be found. 

Two years after the Council of Constance, Pope Martin V. issued 
an edict accusing the Hussites of the most damnable heresies, and 
called upon emperors, kings, and princes, " for the sake of the wounds 
of Jesus, and their own eternal salvation," to assist in their extir- 
pation. 

The Hussites, conscious of the purity of their motives and practices, 
afflicted with the treatment Huss and Jerome received at Constance, 
— and public opinion had so far advanced into the light as to see the 
unwarranted assumptions of the See of Rome, — concluded that for- 
bearance had ceased to be a virtue, and so determined to resist the 
minions of the Pope by force of arms. 

They found a leader competent to the task in a man of noble 
family, brought up at court, and renowned for his love of country 
and fear of God, in the person of John Ziska. To him multitudes 
flocked, until their number amounted to forty thousand. They 
encamped on Mount Tabor, about ten miles from Prague ; and from 
this circumstance were called Taborites. 

Ziska boldly defended his cause, even declaring war against Sigis- 
mund, and defeating the emperor's troops in several battles. He first 
began by attacking and putting the sumptuous palaces, churches, and 
costly robes of the priests to some other use ; demolished their 
images ; discharged the monks, who, he said, were only fattening like 
swine in sties ; reduced the power of the emperor, and gave laws to 
Bohemia, till the time of his death, in 1424. It is said when Ziska 
found he was about to die, he ordered that his skin should be taken 
off, after death, and converted into a drum. 

This order was fulfilled, and the drum was used for a long time as 
a symbol of victory to his followers. 

In the above line of policy, Ziska imitated John and Judas, the 
Maccabees. If it be affirmed that he w r as a rebel, w T hat were those 
against whom he so victoriously rebelled ? Sigismund was not a 
" terror to evil doers," and a "praise to them that do icell" but the 
contrary ; and hence not the " minister of God." 



244 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Procop became the Hussite general after the death of Ziska. The 
Hussites got divided into two parties, known as Calixtines and Tabor- 
ites. The former obtained, finally, a grant of the cup to the laity, in 
the communion, which was denied them at Constance, and was about 
all the Calixtines cared for in shape of reform, and did even persecute 
the Tabo rites. 

But the latter, and the pious part, too, desired a much greater 
reform ; and for this purpose assembled a kind of council at Lititz, 
in 1456, and proceeded to form a system of church government, in 
conformity with that of the primitive Christians. 

They assumed the name of the United Brethren, and are known 
by that, and Moravians, to this day. From this time they increased 
rapidly. Many of the ancient and scattered Waldenses united with 
them, finding in each other a kindred spirit. 

The " United Brethren" were the first church among the reform- 
ers : showing a great advantage gained, since they could do this 
with some degree of safety and success, notwithstanding the fearful 
odds against them. 

Scarcely had they got their arrangements made, ere another cru- 
sade broke upon them. The papal wrath was poured out; the 
Brethren were driven from their homes, and obliged to perish from 
cold and hunger; the public prisons were filled; many were inhu- 
manly dragged at the tails of horses and carts ; others quartered, or 
burnt alive. Such as escaped, fled to the woods and caves, where 
they held religious meetings, chose their own teachers, and labored 
to edify and strengthen each other. 

In their distresses and wanderings, sympathy and a friendly union 
was formed between them and the Hussites and Waldenses, owing 
to the similarity of their views and treatment from their common 
foe. These persecuted people were the seed of the true church, 
and humble followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. 

In 1440, the noble art of printing was invented, which gave to 
the world, and particularly to the Church of Christ, a weapon of 
aggressive and defensive war upon the rotten system of Popery, 
which neither the councils, inquisitions, nor armies of the Pope could 
evade, destroy, nor capture. The reformers found an agent, in the 
press, which the hootings and clamors of archbishops and emper- 
ors could not gag, nor by safe-conducts ensnare, nor much fire 
consume, nor many waters drown. 

Learning was cultivated to some purpose, and its influence upon 
the public mind was most salutary. 

Towards the last of this century, Erasmus appeared on the theatre 
of action, and aided greatly in preparing the way for the Reformation. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 245 

By bis labors, monastic superstition received a wound which has 
never since been healed ; and mankind were furnished with critical 
skill and ingenuity, which they seized and used with a force and 
application far beyond what Erasmus himself ever anticipated. 

In 1487, burst out another horrid persecution of the Waldenses in 
Piedmont, in which all the barbarities of former times were reacted, 
at the relation of which the heart sickens. This persecution contin- 
ued, with greater or less severity, until relieved by the glorious 
Reformation, for which God at this time was preparing the way. 

So much was the world getting its eyes open to the corruptions 
of Popery, that authors and preachers were fast multiplying. Among 
the number was Wesselus. He was denominated the light of the 
world. More properly called the forerunner of Luther. 

In a preface to one of Wesselus' works, Luther thus speaks : " By 
the wonderful providence of God, 1 have been compelled to become 
a public man, and to fight battles with those monsters of indulgences 
and papal decrees. All along, I supposed I stood alone. ... I have 
utterly despaired of making any impression upon these brazen fore- 
heads, and iron necks of impiety. But I am told that even in these 
days, there is a secret remnant of the people of God ; nay, I rejoice 
to see a proof of it. 

"Here is a new publication by Wesselus. ... It is very plain that 
he was taught of God, as Isaiah prophesied Christians should be 
(Isa. 54 : 13). . . As to myself, I not only derive pleasure, but strength 
and courage from this publication. , . I am in no doubt now upon 
the points I have inculcated, when I see so entire an agreement in 
sentiment, and almost the same words used by this eminent person." 
Wesselus died in 1489. 

Though we will not detract from the well-earned and richly- 
deserved fame of Martin Luther, yet we cannot close our eyes to 
the faith and sufferings of those dear people who maintained the 
truth and cause of God through the long night of the dark ages. 
" They endured the contradiction of sinners" Luther rebuked sin- 
ners ; and God in all was glorified, and we benefited. 

Martin Luther. — It is very remarkable that God so often 
raises up some prince to be a "nursing father" to the church, when 
he calls some eminent man into his vineyard. 

For example : Claude of Turin was promoted to that place by 
Lewis of France ; and, under his protection, Claude was shielded 
from harm. 

Peter Waldo was not so specially favored; yet he was not so 
sharply exposed, so that the times were favorably tempered. 

Wickliffe received the aid and protection of the Duke of Lan- 



246 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

caster, or his days would have been cut off prematurely. The 
burning of his bones did neither him nor his cause any harm, nor 
his enemies any good. 

Huss labored successfully, and under the protection of Sigis- 
mund, and the princes of his nation, and obeyed the summons 
to the Council of Constance, under the "safe conduct" of the em- 
peror, who was bribed to turn traitor to Huss, and deliver him up 
to his enemies ; not, however, until he had sown the seed of the 
truth. 

So we shall find the prosperity of Luther is, under God, attribut- 
able to the protection of Frederic the Wise, Elector of Saxony. 

It is related of Huss, that he foresaw the Reformation. While 
wandering in the fields of Bohemia, after being driven out from 
Prague, and surrounded by those who followed him, he said : " The 
wicked have begun by preparing a treacherous snare for the goose. 
(Huss, in Bohemian, signifies goose.) But if even the goose, which 
is only a domestic bird, a peaceful animal, and whose flight is not 
very high in the air, has, nevertheless, broken through their toils, 
other birds, soaring more boldly towards the sky, will break through 
them with still greater force. Instead of a feeble goose, the truth 
will send forth eagles and keen-eyed vultures." 

John Hilton, who suffered great insults and imprisonment from 
the monks, declared to them that " another man would arise in the 
year of our Lord 1516; he will destroy you, and you shall not be 
able to resist him." 

These predictions were both fulfilled in Luther's life, labors, and 
astonishing success. 

Luther's parentage was humble, that the glory might be of God, 
and not of men. John Luther, and Margaret, were his parents' 
names. He was born in Eisleben, Germany, November 10, 1483, on 
St. Martin's eve ; and hence his name, Martin Luther. His father 
was a miner, but a man of strong mind. 

Luther's father resolved on giving him an education ; and accord- 
ingly sent him to a Franciscan school at Magdeburg, at the age of 
fourteen. Without the means of support, he was obliged to go at 
times, with groups of boys, singing from door to door for his daily 
bread. They used to sing, in four parts, songs about the infant 
Jesus, born at Bethlehem. 

He was frequently repulsed, to his great grief. In about a year 
his father removed him to Eisenach, to a school there, hoping his son 
would find assistance. For a time his fate was the same, until a lady 
saw him in the street, and, having heard him sing before, opened her 
door and took him in. From that time he had a home there, and 






HISTORY OF RELIGION. 247 

went on with his studies. This event strengthened him in confidence 
in God, not to be shaken. This noble woman was the wife of Conrad 
Cotta. 

Some years after, when he had become the first Doctor of the age, 
one of Conrad's sons came to Wittemberg to study. Luther re- 
ceived him to his table with joy, and gave him a home under his 
roof, as part pay for a similar favor shown himself. 

Luther's good understanding, lively imagination, and retentive 
memory, enabled him to excel in study. 

From this Luther was removed to the University of Erfurth, in 
1501. Here he plunged into study with unparalleled zeal. But one 
day, while in the library, looking over volume after volume, to see 
their titles and authors' names, he comes upon a strange book, the 
like he had never seen before. He paused, and gazed, and read, and 
wondered. The Bible ! what is the Bible ? and soon he found it to 
be the word of God — a new book to him. 

Luther at this time was twenty years old. His father designed 
him for a lawyer ; but he had already had very strong religious con- 
victions, and was very much agitated about his own personal salva- 
tion. " To pray well, is the better half of study," said he. A severe 
fit of sickness, and a dangerous cut from a sword he wore, in both 
which he came near dying, with the reading of the Bible, made a 
very deep impression upon his mind of the importance of personal 
salvation in his own case ; though at this time he knew no other 
intercessor but Mary. He found no rest. He had learned that God 
is angry with the wicked every day, and that he was not prepared to 
meet God in peace. Such thoughts filled his mind with the keenest 
terrors. 

In 1505 he visited his parents ; and, while returning to Erfurth, 
was overtaken by a terrible thunder-storm. The lightning flashed, 
the bolt fell at his feet. Luther threw himself upon his knees. 
Here, as he says, " encompassed with the anguish and terror of 
death," he made a vow to the Lord to devote himself to his cause, 
if he would spare him. ISTow his thirst for holiness was as great as 
it had been for learning. How to become pure in heart, was his per- 
plexity and inquiry. He resolved to enter a monastery, and there 
become holy. 

Thus God brought Luther, as he did Paul, by a special interposi- 
tion, to vow to live for him. 

Entering Erfurth, he avowed his intention to his friends ; and, 
leaving behind him his clothes and books, except Virgil, and Plautus, 
an epic poem and comedies, — as yet he had no Bible, — he repairs, 
in the darkness of night, to the convent of the hermits of St. Au- 



£48 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

gustine. The gate opens and closes. Luther is secluded from the 
world. This event took place August 17, 1505, he being then a lit- 
tle past twenty-one. 

This event gave Luther's father great distress, and even stirred up 
his anger, that his son should enter a convent ; but at length he 
became reconciled to it. 

The attempt of the monks to discourage the young Augustine 
from study, had to be abandoned in a short time, as no restrictions 
could quench the flame that burnt in his soul for knowledge. A 
chained Bible in the convent was his most delightful study. Here 
his faith found something to nourish it. 

He soon began the study of the Greek and Hebrew, and used all 
helps to a knowledge of the word of God. Among these were the 
learned commentaries of Nicholas Lyra, who died in 1340. From 
this circumstance Pflug said : u j8i Lyra non lyrasset, Lutherus non 
saltassetP — If Lyra had not lyred, Luther had never danced. 

John Staupitz was a very important character at this period. He, 
like Luther, had wandered in darkness, and writhed under convic- 
tion, but had found permanent relief through faith in Christ. 

Staupitz had become a friend and confidant of Frederic the "Wise, 
and under. his direction, Frederic founded the University of Wittem- 
berg. Staupitz was the first dean of the theological faculty of that 
school, from which the light was shortly to proceed to illumine the 
nations. 

In Staupitz's visit to the monastery as vicar-general, his attention 
was directed to Luther, which resulted in a private interview that 
was of incalculable benefit to the young monk. The vicar directed 
him to Jesus, as the Saviour of sinners, and that, too, by faith. This 
gave Luther peace. Staupitz told Luther that God had raised him 
up for great purposes ; and, as a guide to his future usefulness, ex- 
horted him "to make the study of the Scriptures his favorite occu- 
pation ; " and, to seal all his advice, gave Luther a Bible for his own, 
to his great joy. To the study of this he added the works of 
Augustine only ; and now the work begins. 

Little did either Staupitz or Luther realize the importance of that 
visit. And little did Augustine think of the important use that 
would be made of his works, while writing them a thousand years 
before. 

Luther was ordained a priest in May, 1507. Staupitz, who had led 
Luther out of darkness to Christ, the true light, led him also out of 
the convent to a professorship in the L T niversity of Wittemberg. 
He was appointed to this post by Frederic the Wise, in the last 
of 1508. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 249 

Luther's life was one of strides. From the law, he fled to the mon- 
astery ; thence he went to the university ; then chose theology, in 
preference to philosophy. He had now arrived at the goal of his 
desires, — to study and teach the oracles of divine truth. His lec- 
tures took deep effect, astonishing some, and strengthening others. 

Among the latter was his friend Staupitz, who asked him to 
preach in the church of the Augustines. From this Luther recoiled, 
but at length consented. In the middle of the square at Wittem- 
berg stood an ancient wooden chapel, thirty feet long and twenty 
wide, whose walls, propped up on all sides, were falling to ruin. An 
old pulpit, made of planks, and three feet high, received the preacher. 
It was in this wretched place that the preaching of the Reformation 
began. 

Seven monasteries getting at variance about their views, agreed to 
refer their matters to the Pope ; and together chose Luther as their 
representative to his Holiness in the affair. 

This journey to the seat of papal Christianity was a most fortunate 
or providential affair to the cause of the Reformation. It revealed 
to Luther what he would not have believed, only upon being an eye- 
witness, and ignorant of which he would not have felt so deeply the 
importance of his work. 

At his entertainment in a convent on the Po, he saw the profligacy 
and corruption of the priests, to his utter astonishment, but profit. 
In Rome itself, where he felt sure of finding a purer state of man- 
ners, behold it was worse and worse. 

But while there, he availed himself of an opportunity of increasing 
his knowledge of the Bible, by which Rome was to fall. Thus his 
faith in Popery was weakened, and in the Bible strengthened. 

But the finishing touch of death to his blind faith in works was 
given while he was ascending (on his knees) Pilate's Staircase at 
Rome. When part way up, the truth he had before discovered came 
to him with renewed and irresistible force : " The just shall live by 
faith." Luther arose upon his feet, then no more to bow to the Pope. 

On his return to Wittemberg, he was made Doctor of Divinity, 
October 18, 1512. On that memorable day, he was armed champion 
of the Bible. The oath he took was : " I swear to defend the evan- 
gelical truth with all my might." Thus called by the university, his 
sovereign, and the See of Rome, and bound before God with the 
most solemn oath, he now became the herald of the Word of Life. 

Besides all this, his own undaunted courage all combined to give 
weight to his character, security to his person, and hence success to 
the Reformation. He thus declares : " I, Doctor Martin Luther, 
unworthy herald of our Lord Jesus Christ, confess this article : that 

32 



250 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

faith alo?ie, without viorks, justifies before God; and I declare that 
it shall remain forever in despite of the Emperor of the Romans, the 
Emperor of the Turks, the Emperor of the Tartars, the Emperor of 
the Persians; in spite of the Pope and all the cardinals, with the 
bishops, priests, monks, and nuns ; in spite of kings, princes, and 
nobles, and in spite of all the world, and of the devils themselves; 
and that, if they endeavor to fight against this truth, they will draw 
the fires of hell upon their heads. ... I am determined, in God's 
name, to tread upon the lions, to trample dragons and serpents 
under foot. This will begin during my life, and will be accomplished 
after my death." 

Such was the position and determined purpose of Luther, in bring- 
ing about the great Reformation. 

Having given a little sketch of the start Luther got, up to his 
becoming Doctor of Divinity, and thoroughly a public man, his 
individual history will now be dropped, and only noticed with the 
leading events bf the Reformation. 

The immediate cause which led Luther to a pointed and fierce 
attack upon Popery, was the sale of Indulgences by Tetzel, under 
the sanction of Pope Leo X. Tetzel came into Germany in all the 
pomp and show of a prince, and with the effrontery of an arch- 
apostate, offering, without let or hinderance, certificates of pardon 
for all sins, to the living or dead, and even for crimes which any 
one intended to commit. 

Tetzel's great text was : The moment the money tinkles in the 
chest, the soul for whom it is paid mounts from purgatory. 

"Tetzel's Indulgence-Box" is still to be seen in the Church of St. 
"Nicholas, in Jutterbogk (near Berlin). It stands conspicuously 
near the centre of the church, very unlike a modern " contribution- 
box" in its dimensions. 

" It is a great log, dug out of oak, ten feet long, three feet broad, 
and two and a half deep, strongly hooped with iron, the front cov- 
ered with iron ornaments. The lid is a heavy, two-and-a-half-inch 
plank, with a large slit in the middle for the money to drop through, 
secured by stout hinges and three strong hasps. The padlocks are 
gone, so are the keys, so is Tetzel. When filled, it was a load for 
four strong horses." 

A nobleman, Hans Yon Hacke, asked him if he could grant an 
indulgence fc>r a sin which a man intends to commit in future. 
"Surely," said he, "upon the actual payment of the sum required." 
"Well," said the nobleman, "I am desirous of taking a slight 
revenge on one of my enemies, without endangering life; for such 
.an indulgence I will give you twenty crowns." — "Not short of 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 251 

thirty crowns," said Tetzel. The sum was paid, and the indulgence 
granted. As Tetzel was about leaving the place with his chest of 
money, a party sprang upon him, from ambush, headed by this noble- 
man, seized him, beat him (slightly ?) with a stick, took his treas- 
ure, and let him go. Tetzel invoked the civil authority ; but, upon 
showing the indulgence, Duke George ordered the nobleman released 
from custody. This, however, did not destroy the traffic; for in 
1709, even, there was captured, at Bristol, England, a budget con- 
taining five hundred bales of bulls of indulgences, with sixteen reams 
in a bale. Estimated worth, £3,840,000 ($19,200,000) ! 

Such was the anxiety of Tetzel and others for money, that the 
people themselves said : " Pay ! pay ! — that is the head, belly, tail, 
and contents of all their sermons. " 

Luther, bearing of Tetzel' s enormities, was aroused, not wholly at 
him, but at the effrontery of. the Roman See in sanctioning such 
impunity. In his telling way, Luther declares : " If God permit, I 
will make a hole in his drum." When people came to Luther to 
confession, he warned them to break off their sins by righteousness ; 
but they refused, and to prove their right to do so, showed their 
indulgences. At this Luther saw that Tetzel was playing under 
him, rendering his authority as a priest null and void. 

Luther was aroused ; he preached a sermon, attacking the traffic 
of indulgences in such a manner as to shake even the strong hold 
it had upon the base prejudices and passions of the populace. 

A curious dream, by Frederick the Wise, is worthy of notice. 
On retiring, and being in great distress about souls in purgatory, he 
begged of God to direct him and his people in the way of truth. " I 
fell asleep and dreamed that God sent a monk, a true son of Paul, 
and with him all the saints. They asked my permission for the 
monk to write on the chapel door at Wittemburg. I consented. As 
the monk began to write, lo ! the extremity of his pen reached even 
to Rome, and pierced the ears of a lion there (Leo X.), and shook 
the triple crown on the Pope's head. The cardinals ran to hold it 
on. They besought me to oppose the monk, as he lived in my domin- 
ions. The princes, with myself, hastened to Rome, and tried to 
break his pen ; but it even grew stronger. I then asked the monk 
where he got the pen, and how it was so strong. He said : ' This 
pen belonged to a Bohemian goose (Huss), one hundred years old. 
I had it from one of my old schoolmasters. It is so strong, because 
no one can take the pith out of it, and I am myself quite astonished 
at it.' On a sudden, I heard a loud cry: .... from the monk's long 
pen had issued a host of other pens. I awoke, and it was daylight." 



252 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The interpretation of this dream was difficult at the time, but has 
since been abundantly explained and confirmed. 

The work of piercing the lion's ears, and of writing on the door 
of the Wittemburg chapel, begun in ninety-five propositions Luther 
composed and put up on that door, October 31, 1517, against indul- 
gences. This drew out from Tetzel one hundred and six in reply. 

Before they came to their public discussion, each reviewed the 
other's "theses," publicly and severely. In reference to Tetzel, 
Luther says : " Let him call me heretic, schismatic, slanderer, and 
whatever he pleases, I shall not be his enemy for that, and I shall 

pray for him as for a friend But I cannot suffer him to treat 

the Holy Scriptures, our consolation, as a sow treats a sack of oats." 

Luther's boldness, in publishing his theses, struck some of his 
warmest friends with a little trembling, lest he had over acted; and 
Luther didn't know 'but he had. But in after-years he banished all 
such misgivings. And so he should. A bold man was needed. 
Luther was the man for the times. All Germany was in a panic. 

The affray with Tetzel had reached the " ears of the lion at Rome," 
and Luther was summoned to appear before the Pope. But at the 
request of the University at Wittemburg, he was permitted to have 
a hearing in Germany. The legate, De Yio (surnamed Cajetan), 
fishing after popularity, solicited and obtained the management of 
Luther's case, and Augsburg was the place for the meeting. 

The brief of the Pope, which accompanied the summons, was 
found to contain Luther's condemnation also, and was written even 
before the summons reached him. "What must the court be, if the 
summons and judgment reach the prisoner before the trial ? Lu- 
ther said : " They forgot to take hellebore to clear out their heads, 
before resorting to such trickery." 

Fearful apprehensions were now entertained by Luther's friends. 
He was now about to face the same power as did Huss, for the same 
fault, and a similar fate was suspected. Luther, however, was tran- 
quil, saying: "My wife and my children are well provided for 
(having neither to leave to suffer), and my poor life is but little for 
them to take." 

Luther set out for Augsburg, without a safe-conduct even, and 
on foot, turning a deaf ear to friends who entreated him not to put 
his life in the hands of his enemies. " Let Christ live ; let Luther 
die," said he. At Nuremburg, two of his friends, Link and Leonard, 
went with him to Augsburg, where they arrived October 7th. 

Kext day, Luther was waited upon by Cajetan's feeler, Serra 
Longa, to ascertain the spirit of Luther. Finding that he had come 
without a safe-conduct, Longa told him it was of no use to have 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 253 

one, and urged his immediate appearance before the legate. Fine 
trap, if he could have gotten Luther into it. His friends having 
obtained a safe-conduct, he appeared before Cajetan, in answer to 
the Pope's summons. 

In coming before the legate, Luther prostrated himself; at his 
order he rose upon his knees ; at another order he stood up. Caje- 
tan then addressed him as a dear son that had disturbed all Germany, 
and then read Father Leo's billet to him, which was : First, own 
your faults, retract your errors, propositions, and sermons ; second, 
abstain in future from propagating your opinions, and, thirdly, bind 
yourself to behave with greater moderation, and avoid everything 
that may grieve or disturb the church. 

Luther tried to talk with the legate, but was answered by taunt- 
ing and effrontery. He even condescended to ask Luther if he 
would like to have him grant him a "safe-conduct to Rome?" 

No doubt he would have been conveyed safely there ! 

At the second interview, the legate was even more insulting than 
before, speaking all the time, hardly giving Luther time to speak. 
Luther was satisfied that nothing could be done with Cajetan. All 
he sought was to compel him to say, " I retract," and that he never 
would do nor say. Luther now prepares to take issue with the 
legate. 

The third interview took place October 14th ; Luther, with the 
Elector's councillors, appeared before the legate. Luther advanced 
and laid his protest before the legate, who received it with contempt 
and sneers. Luther had asked him to present his paper to the Pope 
in his behalf. Railing followed railing, until Cajetan wound up by 
the blurt : " Recant, or return no more ! " Luther bowed and left, 
the councillors following him, to the astonishment of the legate and 
his posse, who did not look for that. 

All at once the legate and his courtiers became quiet, but had 
hitherto been very alert. This attracted the notice of Luther's 
friends, and alarmed them for his safety. They looked upon it as 
the calm before the storm ; they remembered the fate of Huss. The 
messenger to Rome had a positive errand ; an order might come any 
moment for the delivery of Luther to the custody of Cajetan. 

Two devices were laid to thwart the evil purposes of the legate. 
One was, for Luther to write, and leave for presentation to him, an 
appeal from him to the Pope. The other was, for Luther to flee, 
secretly and immediately, from Augsburg, which he did. 

Mortified and vexed at losing his prey, Cajetan wrote to the 
Elector, either to send Luther to Rome, or expel him from the Ger- 
man States. 



254 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Frederick refused to do either ; and but for this firm protection, 
Luther would — like Huss, Jerome, Cobham, and others — have 
beeu speedily burnt, and the Reformation quashed for the time. 

The failure at Augsburg gave great dissatisfaction at Rome, and 
De Vio gained nothing in the favof of the Holy (?) See. But, in order 
to stir up Luther to fresh attacks on Popery, and give new occasion 
for proceeding against him, Leo issued a bull, reaffirming the good- 
ness of indulgences. He studiously refrained from calling any 
names, yet took special pains to mention the particular points 
Luther had condemned. 

But the reformer was a little ahead of the Pope ; for, anticipating 
what would come, he had, on November 28, 1518, a few days before 
the bull, in the chapel of Corpus Christie at Wittemburg, appealed 
from the Pope to a general council of the church. " This," he said, 
" I am obliged to do, as the only means of safety against that injus- 
tice which it is impossible to resist." 

The failure of Cajetan to restore Luther, induced the Pope to 
send a man of milder turn, to try what the offer of a cardinal's hat 
would do towards luring the obstinate reformer. For a time, kind- 
ness and clemency won Luther's attention, and great hopes were 
entertained by Miltitz, the Pope's envoy, of a reconciliation. But 
when recantation, or the mummeries of Popery were urged upon 
Luther's faith, he was as far from yielding as ever. 

Doctor Eck, a Papist, managed to draw Luther into another pub- 
lic debate, at Leipsic, in 1519. Eck had rather worsted Carolstadt, 
a friend of Luther's, and so sought to meet the champion himself. 
This Eck did, to his sorrow. Luther laid him out. 

That discussion had another good effect : Philip Melancthon was 
present, and from that time espoused warmly the cause of the Ref- 
ormation. With scholarship equal to Erasmus, and integrity in a 
far greater degree, he became, what is very rare, a useful ornament 
to the cause of Christ. 

About the same time arose Zuinglius, in Switzerland, who resisted 
the indulgence hawkers in a similar way to that of Luther. He did 
a glorious work there, in breaking the papal thraldom, and exalting 
the word and worship of the living and true God. 

Thus the work advanced, and God w^is glorified. 

Eck and De Yio, being badly whipped, went growling back to the 
den at Rome, and stirred up the old lion afresh, whose ears Luther^s 
pen had pierced. 

They induced Leo X. to issue a bull of excommunication against 
Luther, unless he threw himself, within sixty days, upon the sover- 
eign mercy of the Court of Rome. Inviting proposition ! 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 255 

The bull was forthcoming, June 15th, 1520. But, on the tenth of 
December, 1520, Luther caused a pile of wood to be laid outside the 
walls of Wittemburg, when he took the bull of excommunication 
and laid it upon the pile, and placing fire beneath it, reduced the 
whole to ashes. 

Bold push, that ; and few but Luther would have done it. But 
it must be done, and by this act he declared himself free from the 
Papal Church ; and, taking the bidl by the horns, whose roar had 
terrified so many, he taught the Pope and the world that the bull 
that pushes with the horn shall be destroyed. 

The Emperor Maxamilian I. died in 1519, and was succeeded by 
Charles V. The Pope besought Charles to proceed against Luther, 
with the utmost rigor. Charles wanted to retain the favor of the 
Pope, and yet he could but have some regard for Luther, on account 
of his patron, Frederick the Wise, by whom Charles obtained the 
crown of Germany. So Charles had to take a half-way course. To 
please the Pope, he consented to the burning of Luther's writings j 
and to please Frederick, refused to do Luther any harm. 

But Charles ordered a general Diet to be held at Worms, to settle 
the disputes. 

It was to this diet Luther's friends tried to persuade him not to 
go ; when he replied, if he " met as many devils at Worms as there 
were tiles on the houses, he would not be deterred." 

At this diet, Charles required Luther to appear. Here he was 
permitted to speak upon his cause for two hours. Great efforts were 
made to induce him to recant, but to no purpose. Charles then 
ordered him to leave Worms. 

When pressed beyond measure to retract, he declared the words 
of Scripture were so strong he could not, and uttered his memorable 
words: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me. 
Amen." The prelates clamored with Charles, to let slip his safe- 
conduct to Luther, and let him fall into their hands. Charles chose 
not to imitate the perfidy of Sigismund towards Huss, and told 
them he "did not care to blush with his predecessor." 

Yet, while Charles sent Luth#r away under a safe-conduct, he 
remained, and gratified the Pope by condemning him as a heretic 
and an outlaw. 

Luther was now in the greatest danger ; he had now come to the 
precipice, and awaited being thrown over it. But his friends 
succeeded in concealing him for ten months, in the Castle of 
Wartberg. 

During his concealment, he labored at a translation of the New 
Testament, into German. Hearing of some hasty moves by his 



256 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

friend Carolstadt, in breaking down the images of the saints, he rushed 
forth, and appeared again at Wittemburg, and restored order. 

The Pope still sought Luther's life ; but the corruptions of the 
church were such, that he could not get Luther destroyed for oppos- 
ing enormities so jmlpable. Hence, at a diet at Nuremburg, the 
execution of the sentence was suspended, until a meeting of a gen- 
eral council. But the Reformation was spreading into the countries 
round about. 

In 1525, Frederick the Wise (to whom more is due, under God, 
than to any other prince up to his time, for his aid to the cause of 
truth) died. But his brother John espoused the cause, with even 
more zeal than Frederick. 

Luther's marriage occurred June 11th, 1525. He married Cathar- 
ine Bora. He had been a monk, and she a nun. This circumstance 
created a great sensation throughout Europe. Amongst other things 
that were said was, that the offspring of a monk and nun would be 
antichrist. To which Erasmus replied : " If that be so, the world 
is full of antichrists already." 

Luther was very happy in his married life. His wife Katha, as he 
familiarly called her, relieved him of all household cares, encour- 
aged him when desponding, and so aided him variously, that he 
declared that " the best gift of God, is a pious and amiable wife." 

Charles again issued orders for a diet, which assembled at Spires, 
in 1526 ; but, fearing an invasion from the Turks, and, more than 
all, a treaty between France, England, and the Pope, against him, he 
ordered that " every state take its own course in matters of religion, 
until a general council could meet and determine the matters in 
dispute." 

Thus religious liberty gasped once, after the fearful travail through 
which Doctor Luther brought it to birth. Glorious child of the 
daughter of Zion ! thou shalt yet breathe again and live. Hallelujah ! 

Charles and the Pope becoming friends again, between them 
another diet was called, at Spires, in 1529, which revoked the decree 
of the previous diet, and substituted, that all departure from the 
Catholic faith was forbidden until the great council. This was an 
attempt to strangle the child mentioned above. 

Upon this, the German princes entered their solemn protest 
against this enormity; and from this circumstance the reformers 
were called "Protestants? 

Thus they tore off the strangling-cord, and religious liberty 
breathed again. 

In 1530, another diet sat at Augsburg, to settle all disputes. 
Luther was requested to draw up a summary of Protestant doctrines, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 257 

to be presented to the diet. This is known as the Augsburg Con- 
fession. The prospect was fair, at the opening of the diet, for the 
cause of reform ; but the emperor was so pressed by the Papacy, at 
last, as to agree to the passage of an edict establishing papal su- 
premacy, and submission to it, upon pain of imperial wrath. 

Upon this, the Protestant princes saw no hope, only in self-defence. 
Accordingly, they met at, and formed the League of Smalcalcl^ and 
intended to invoke France, England, and Denmark to unite with 
them. This alliance, and the invasion of the Turks, forced Charles 
to conclude a peace with them, in 1532, in which the decrees of 
Worms and Augsburg were revoked, and religious liberty estata 
lished, until the council. 

This may be termed the swaddling-bands of religious liberty. 

Luther was not a little disturbed by a work, published about this 
time, purporting to be written by Henry VIII. of England. In this, 
Henry wrote upon the sacraments, defending them in the way the 
Pope taught, and treating Luther's views in a very summary, uncer- 
emonious, and sarcastic manner. Luther replied in his usual manner, 
and no less severe than usual. 

Charles, seeing that nothing could be done now, until the long ex- 
pected council should sit, was impatient to have Clement VII. name 
the time and place. He died, and Paul III. became Pope. Charles 
pushed him to make the appointment, when Trent was the place 
fixed upon. To this place the Protestants were unwilling to go, 
being so near the Pope's dominions. But Charles was in favor of 
Trent, and declared war against all who should refuse to attend the 
council, or abide by its decisions. 

But, while the world was in commotion, the great reformer made 
his last journey to his native city, Isleben. He fell suddenly ill ; his 
last word was (in answer to the question, whether he still trusted in 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Saviour and Redeemer?) : " Yes." 
Lying for a quarter of an hour with his hands clasped, soon his 
features turned pale, and he fell asleep in Jesus, " without a struggle 
or a sigh," between two and three, on the morning of February 18th, 
1546, M. 62. 

Thus died the great Luther. He lived to see the cause of the 
Reformation set on a level with Popery, as it had a right to be. He 
had, by God's help, broken the power of the Pope beyond the pos- 
sibility of repair, and seen Protestant states take the ground he had 
cleared, determined to maintain it. This was the most he expected 
to do ; " but," said he, " after my death, it will be completed." 
Religious liberty was now dressed, and breathed freely. 

Council of Teent. — Luther " being dead, yet speaketh." He 

33 



258 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

had appealed to a general council ; it had been agreed to, and Trent 
was the place for it to be held. In the very year Luther died, the 
Council of Trent assembled. 

It was soon seen that, like all other diets and hearings, the Council 
of Trent was to be entirely monopolized ; and hence, instead of a 
general council, it was only a popish council. Besides this, Charles 
V. had taken arms against the Protestants, defeated them, and had 
taken the Elector of Saxony — the very patron of the Reforma- 
tion — and others prisoners. He then attempted to compel the Prot- 
estants to agree to abide by the decisions of the Council of Trent. 
This was nothing less than to ask them to submit to the Pope in 
toto. 

Great confusion and alarm ensued ; when, at this critical moment, 
Maurice, son-in-law to the elector, found Charles in a weak condition 
of defence, at Innspruck, fell upon him, and compelled him to agree 
upon a peace. 

At a diet in Augsburg, September 25th, 1555, a treaty was formed, 
called " The Peace of Religion? Charles served the interests of 
either party, just as force of circumstances compelled him. In the 
present position of affairs, the Papacy saw the immense advantage 
the Protestants were about to gain, and the unparalleled loss they 
themselves were to sustain. Indeed, it was the triumph of the 
Reformation. 

Hence, in their panic, they cried out, that " in things pertaining 
to the faith, no man's conscience should be free. But when any 
man departs from the common consent of the church, he ought to 
be punished and restrained." 

On the other hand, the famous decree was passed, that " neither 
the Emperor, nor the King of the Romans, nor any other princes 
or states of the empire, should, in any manner whatsoever, hurt or 
injure any man for the profession of the Augustan, or Protestant, 
doctrine, religion, and faith ; nor should they, by command, or by 
any other means whatsoever, force any man to forsake or change his 
religion. That all persons should be suffered freely to profess the 
Protestant faith, as it then was, or should thereafter be instituted, 
and quietly to enjoy their rights and property ; also, that no attempt 
should be made to settle controversies in religion by any other than 
pious, friendly, and quiet ways." Similar engagements were made 
by the Protestants, as to their conduct towards the Romanists. This 
was the Peace of Religion. 

The Council of Trent continued from 1546 to 1563, during which 
time it held no less than twenty-five sessions. Its decrees now stand, 
as the creed of the Roman Catholic Church. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 259 

The Peace of Religion was established during the Council of 
Trent ; and hence that august assembly was spurned by the Prot- 
estants, ere it had roared its dragon decrees. The fearful struggle 
made to establish Protestantism, shows the fearful and tremendous 
assumption of the rights of men Popery had absorbed. But in the 
Peace of Religion we see religious liberty, in pantalettes, smiting the 
man of sin. All previous struggles with the Papacy had been 
quashed, but in this the tide of affairs is completely turned. 



AGE OF CONSOLIDATION. 



FROM THE PEACE OF RELIGION, 1555 A. C., TO THE 
PRESENT TIME. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. FROil THE PEACE OF RELIGION, 5559 A. II., 1555 A. C, TO THE LAND- 
ING OF THE PILGRIMS IN AMERICA, 5621 A. il., AXD 1620 A. C. 

Fko3i the Peace of Religion, onward, we shall find the struggles 
for religious liberty confined to the limits of the different states. It 
will there be found grappling with the same difficulties as heretofore, 
only with the State power, instead of the Papal, as the world-wide 
opponent of all reform. Still, in most cases, the state powers, when 
opposed to reform, were more or less under the control of Popery. 
But the division of the papal forces, necessary to guard so many points, 
w r as favorable to the causes of civil and religious liberty. Hence the 
gradual consolidation of the political and religious elements of soci- 
ety into their present form ; being the combination of Patriarchy, 
Power, and Opinion. This seems to be the age for which all other 
ages were made. 

The history of religion will now be followed through the different 
sects, or denominations, as they appear. 

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

Being now shorn of the proud title conferred upon the Bishop and 
Church of Rome by the Emperor Phocas, Papists are now obliged to 
stand on a level with others, only a sect among sects. This was Lu- 
ther's aim, to pull down the Pope, and raise up the Church of Christ ; 
and he did it effectually. 

Conscious of their tremendous loss, and still waning power, the 
Catholics felt that some effort must be made to save what was left, 
and regain something. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 261 

Ignatius Loyola — Brought the plan to light, in 1540, that was 
finally inaugurated as a "restorer of the breach." 

He was the founder of the "Order of the Jesuits;" i. €., the 
Order of Jesus, which was, after some hesitation, confirmed by 
Paul III. The order was under the direction of a general, chosen 
for life by the Pope, and who had the entire control of the whole 
party. Every member was at his disposal, and subject to his 
commands. 

They laid aside the monkish notion of seclusion, and mingled 
among men in disguise. They became lawyers, physicians, mathe- 
maticians, painters, and artists, to gain the more ready access to 
every class. Jesuits were known by Jesuits ; but to the eye of the 
world they passed unsuspected as to their real character. With 
this arrangement, they went forth, with Saul-like zeal, to prop up 
and extend the reign of the Pope. 

They took " the field to be the world ; " and into the East, and 
South America, they carried their conquests, as far as man could be 
found. St. Francis Xavier was the Paul of the Jesuits. Other 
missionary societies were formed amongst them, to serve in the all- 
absorbing work of "Propaganda fide" — propagation of the faith. 

This led to the reconstruction of their whole former machinery 
of operation. The Reformation remodelled Popery. The laws and 
courts of the Inquisition were revised and corrected ; colleges and 
schools established ; youth trained in the art of disputing, and of 
defending the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, and high 
distinctions conferred on the most zealous partisans. Thus was 
infused into the Jesuits all the energy conceivable ; but its efforts 
were more like death-throes than life from the dead. 

But the device in which Rome has most delighted, and spent her 
most pious (?) hours, was not laid aside, and could hardly be im- 
proved ; namely, persecution of the Protestants. 

One of the first bursts of wrath, under the limited sway of the 
Pope, was upon the Waldenses of Calabria, a province of Italy. 
Reformed pastors from Geneva had been sent among them, and 
they had been strengthened, and had formed a junction with the 
Calvinists at Geneva. 

As the Peace of Religion gave each state the right to regulate its 
own internal matters on religion, the Pope took that liberty in 
Italy. The business of regulating, (?) in that wretched country, 
continued over a hundred years. In short, and nothing short of all 
the horrors of a war upon defenceless people by a brutal soldiery, 
set on by the instigations of inquisitorial fiends, who loved blood 
more than mercy, characterized their operations. 



262 HISTORY OF RELIGION, 

Milton's sonnet upon their woes commences thus : 

" Avenge, Lord, thy slaughtered saints ! Avhose bones 
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; 
E'en those who kept thy truth so pure of old, 
When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones, 
Forget not." 

They also found generous sympathy in the great heart of Oliver 
Cromwell. 

But the ripest and most bitter fruit of Jesuitical perfidy was the 
massacre of St. Bartholomew, in Paris, France, Aug. 24, 1572. 

Catharine de Medicis, mother of King Charles IX., was the real 
sovereign of France, i. e., by her influence. 

Cate was a fit tool for the purpose contemplated. Her heartless- 
ness and audacity were equal to any emergency. 

The Protestants at this time were numerous and influential, hav- 
ing for their patrons two young princes of the blood, Henry, King 
of Navarre, and the princes of Conde. 

Catharine had the art to court the favor of either party, as the 
end she had in view might require. At last she resolved to dispose 
of the Protestants ("Huguenots"), so as to have but one party to 
please and control. 

The fiendish device was covered up, under a proposed marriage 
between her daughter and Henry of Navarre, and so unite and 
reconcile the two parties. Accordingly, Protestants and Catholics 
were invited to the wedding, and much pains was taken to have 
the Huguenots present. 

Admiral Coligny, high in rank and merit, also a Protestant, was 
specially invited and flattered. 

The marriage passed off with great pomp. But on Sunday morn- 
ing following, at twelve o'clock, the tocsin for the slaughter was 
rung. The first blow struck was the assassination of Admiral Col- 
igny. A posse was sent to his room ; they entered it ; one Berne, 
a German, addressed him: "Are you not the Admiral?" — "I am," 
he replied ; when Berne plunged his sword into his breast. A call 
was made below, to throw his body out into the street. Guise, 
leader of the forces, examining the body, said : " Yes, it is he him- 
self;" gave him a kick, and led off his minions to the slaughter. 

The scene that followed beggars description. The blood of ten 
thousand defenceless Huguenots drenched the streets of Paris ; and 
thus passed another scene in the drama of "Who is Head of the 
Church ? — Christ, or the Pope ? " 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 263 

News of this papal Pentecost was received in Rome with 
unbounded exultation and joy. 

The slaughter spread into other parts, until not less than sixty 
thousand Protestants perished by the hands of the Papists, under 
the sanction of the Pope. 

Peace and concord by no means followed this perfidious transac- 
tion, though it led to a relief for a time. 

In 1593, Henry IY. (a Huguenot) ascended the throne of France; 
and in 1598 he established the Edict of Nantes, by which the Prot- 
estants had free toleration. 

Religious liberty drew one breath more, after the massacre. 

The papal party, however, manifested their regard for Henry, by 
procuring his assassination in his carriage. Under the Edict of 
Nantes, the Protestants flourished until 1685, when Louis XI Y. 
revoked the Edict of Nantes, requiring the Reformed Churches to 
return to the Papal Church. This measure drained France of from 
five to eight hundred thousand of her best citizens. Protestantism 
was finally crushed. Thus did Rome redouble her efforts to destroy 
the Reformation. 

Yet, as the kings of France were always doing, first build up the 
Pope, and then pull him down, so did Louis XIY. By his order, a 
council of the Gallician Church, in 1682, declared that the power of 
the Pope is only spiritual, that a general council is superior to him, 
and that his decisions are not infallible. 

Thus Louis "pierced the ears of the lion" at Rome. 

But this down-hill course of the Jesuits did not stop here. They 
had shown the world what they would do, could do, and did do ; 
and it was enough. 

This order of creeping fiends was suppressed in England, and 
expelled in 1604; from Yenice 1606; from Portugal 1759; France, 
1764; Spain and Sicily, 1767; and finally abolished by Clement 
XIY., July 21, 1773. 

Thus this " right hand " of Popery, in two hundred and thirty 
years, had become " an offence even to the Church of Rome ! and 
was " cut off and cast from her." 

But Popery was doomed to feel yet another blow from a succes- 
sor of Pepin. The revolution of 1793 brought her humility. Of 
her fate it is said : " Her priests were massacred. Her silver shrines 
and saints were turned into money to pay troops. Her bells were 
converted into cannon, and her churches and convents into bar- 
racks for soldiers. From the Atlantic to the Adriatic, she presented 
but one appalling spectacle. She had shed the blood of saints and 
prophets, and God now gave her blood to drink." Upon the ap- 



2G4 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

pearance again of a regular government, " Liberty of conscience 
and freedom of worship" were declared to be the*law of the land. 

The child Religious Liberty yet lives and flourishes. 

Napoleon deposed the Pope, and the whole system of monkery. 
In less than four years he dispossessed the Pope of his ecclesiastical 
state, and reduced His Holiness to a mere cipher in the political 
world. Shades of Pepin! In a speech to the magistrates of Mad- 
rid in 1808, he says: "I have abolished the Court of the Inquisi- 
tion, which was a subject of complaint to Europe and the present 
age. Priests may guide the minds of men, but must exercise no 
temporal or corporal jurisdiction over the citizens." 

Constantine and Pepin ! what shall be done with Philip IV. and 
Bonaparte ? 

But still more recently, the arms of liberty stood before the door 
of the Vatican, when Bonaparte III. ran to the rescue, and with 
French bayonets propped up the crumbling power of His Holiness. 

The next wave that sweeps over Rome may be the breath of the 
Almighty. If so, the cry and shout will be : " Babylon the Great 
is fallen"! 

Lutherans. — The sect bearing this name are the followers of 
Luther. They date the rise of their church from his excommuni- 
cation by the Pope. The Augsburg Confession, drawn up by Lu- 
ther in 1530, consisting of twenty-one articles, forms the standard 
of faith in the Lutheran Church. 

Although strenuously Protestant, the Lutheran Church does not 
take a foremost rank anions; evangelical churches. 

Swedenborg, author of Swedenborgianism, or the New Jerusalem 
Church, was a Lutheran bishop, born in Stockholm, 1688, 

Calvlnists. — This sect derive their name from John Calvin, a 
Frenchman, who forsook the fellowship of the Church of Rome in 
1534, and in 1541 settled at Geneva, where his influence did much in 
advancing the cause of the Reformation. He was the author of the 
Presbyterian form of church government. 

Calvin is reckoned next to Luther, as a promoter of the Reforma- 
tion. He did much to revive learning in Geneva and Germany. 
The fault of the age was Calvin's, namely, intolerance. He lent his 
influence against Servetus, a learned Spaniard, for his views of the 
Trinity. Servetus was condemned to be burnt, in 1553. 

The Calvinistic doctrine consists of Predestination, Particular 
Redemption, Total Depravity, Effectual Calling, and Perseverance 
of the Saints. 

During the life, of Zuinglius, the Swiss churches adopted the sen- 
timents of that distinguished reformer; but after his death, many 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 265 

became Calvinistic. The Calvinists suffered, with others, the rigors 
of papal persecution; the term came to mean much the same as 
" Protestant." 

James Arminius, from being a Calvinist, turned so far as to reject 
Predestination and Grace, as explained by Calvin. They each got 
upon the opposite extreme in some things, yet each had his argu- 
ments and advocates. 

But the worst feature of the case was, that the Arminians were 
subjected to persecution from the other reformed churches, showing 
that the reformers themselves did not understand how to use the 
liberty they claimed of the Roman Church. 

CHUECH OF ENGLAND. 

The rise of this sect has its date in 1534, during the reign of 
Henry VIII., who had a rupture with the Pope. Extremes often 
meet. 

Henry took great pains to write a work against Luther, in defence 
of Popery, and received, as a reward of merit from the Pope, the 
title of "Defender of the Faith." 

Afterwards, wishing to obtain a divorce, Henry applied to the 
Pope ; he refused the king's request. Upon this, Henry applied 
to the universities of Europe, and they granted it. Exasperated at 
this refusal of the Pope, Henry determined to have revenge. 

He accordingly declared himself the head of the Church of Eng- 
land, and disclaimed the authority of the Pope. He caused the 
Scriptures to be translated, and favored such measures as were op- 
jaosed to Popery and favorable to reform. 

He next suppressed the monasteries, beginning with the smaller 
convents. From these he acquired some £40,000. Proceeding to 
the larger ones, in two years he destroyed six hundred and forty- 
five monasteries, ninety colleges, two thousand chantries, five chap- 
els, and ten hospitals; all their wealth — lands, silks, jewels, etc. — 
flowed into the royal coffers. 

This raised the ire at Rome. Henry's title was annulled, he ex- 
communicated, his kingdom laid under an interdict, and he cited to 
appear at Rome. Henry regarded all this raving as idle wind. 

Edward VI. — Succeeded Henry, and favored Protestantism, to 
the great joy of its friends and the grief of the Papacy. Edward 
soon relaxed the severities of Henry's reign. One of the acts 
passed in his reign was the bloody statute, designed to favor popish 
sentiments. 

Cranmer was the guiding star to Edward. About this time was 

34 



208 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

drawn up forty-two articles of religion, thirty-nine of which, known 
as the "Thirty-nine Articles," still form the code of faith and disci- 
pline in that church. 

The reformers wanted to complete the reform, by rejecting all 
popish garments, such as the cap and surplice. Edward was will- 
ing, but Cranmer and Ridley would have them worn. 

Among those who would not conform to these orders, were Lat- 
imer, Coverdale, and John Rogers ; and for this they were called 
non-conformists. Cranmer cast Hooper into prison, for refusing to 
wear the little cap. 

Cranmer, and other reformers, (?) persecuted and put to death 
the Anabaptists, among whom was one Joan Bocher, of Kent. 
Edward declined signing her death warrant, but was forced to by 
the intolerant solicitations of Cranmer. On yielding, Edward said, 
with tears in his* eyes: "If I do wrong in yielding to your author- 
ity, you must answer for it to God." Edward died in 1553, and 
bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, who was soon beheaded, 
and Mary, sister of Edward, a bigoted Papist, ascended the throne. 
Popery now triumphed again. 

The tables were soon turned. It was Cranmer's lot, now, to feel 
what he had caused others to feel ; he, being opposed to Popery, 
was imprisoned. Cardinal Pole received England back into the 
bosom of the Catholic Church, and removed the interdict. 

Bonner, who had been imprisoned by Cranmer, now had his lib- 
erty, and is said to have " behaved more like a cannibal than a Chris- 
tian." Cranmer had the jjleasure and honor of martyrdom, being 
burnt at the stake March 21, 1556. 

He signed a recantation, but the Papists were bent on his death. 
In the flames he regretted this, and held the offending hand in the 
fire, saying: "This unworthy hand!" But no mention of Joan 
^Bocher. 

John Rogers, and Hooper, suffered death by fire the year before. 

Puritans — Had their rise in Frankfort, Germany, 1554. They 
consisted first of English Protestants, who fled from the rigor of 
Mary, and took refuge at Frankfort. They were non-conformists, 
and, aiming at a still further improvement and simplicity in wor- 
ship, were called by their enemies, as a term of reproach, "Puri- 
tans." John Knox was the pastor of these exiles. 

Elizabeth, sister of Mary and Edward, came to the throne in 
1558. She did but little until the meeting of Parliament in 1559. 
Protestantism was restored. The jnincipal act passed was one 
establishing the siqoremacy of the sovereign, and uniformity of 
common prayer / — tiie exact views of her father, Henry VIII. 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 267 

She avowed Protestantism, but, by keeping the popish garments, 
took issue with the non-conformists; and now for the scenes of 
Rome to be reenacted. The Pope was shut out, and the non-con- 
formists shut in. 
. In the act of supremacy was a clause which gave rise to a new 
court, called the " Court of High Commission." This consisted of 
persons appointed by the queen. Power was given them " to visit, 
reform, and amend all errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, offences, and 
enormities whatever." 

This was a Protestant Inquisition. 

If the person apprehended refused to take oath, he was imprisoned 
for contempt; if he took oath, his own confession thereby con- 
victed him ; and the term of imprisonment was wholly at the pleas- 
ure of the court. 

Dominic and Elizabeth do well agree ! 

Jesuitical plots not a few were laid to dispose of this prelatical 
queen. Prelacy and Popery were now at strife, alternately the vic- 
tims of each other, while the Puritans were victims of both. 

The "Spanish Armada''' was fitted out for the purpose of de- 
throning Prelacy and establishing Popery, but was blown in pieces 
by a tempest ; the providence of God requiring it so to be. 

In 1581, a sect arose among the Puritans, called Brownists, who 
adopted the independent form of church government. A church 
of this sect afterwards removed, in 1625, to Plymouth, New 
England. 

James I. — Came to the throne in 1603, and gave the Puritans 
high hopes of favor at his accession. But, though educated a Pres- 
byterian, he soon went over to Prelacy. James' religion consisted 
purely of "kingcraft." 

In reply to a petition of one thousand Puritans, for redress of 
grievances they suffered from the bishops, James' favorite maxim 
was : " No bishop, no king ; " — meaning that those who opposed the 
bishops, opposed the king. 

Still, upon this petition of the Puritans, James appointed a meet- 
ing at Hampton Court, to hear their cause. 

The first day, the bishops and king met in private. The second 
day, the Puritans had a hearing in the presence of the king and pre- 
lates. During their defence and plea, they were frequently inter- 
rupted and insulted. 

James closed his speeches to the Puritans, with his new and pious 
ejaculation : " No bishop, no king." 

In rendering his verdict,. he said: "If this is all your party have 
to say, I will make them conform themselves, or else I will harrie 



268 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

(dog) them out of the land, or else do worse, — only hang them, 
that's all!" 

Vive Cajetan and James ! The Puritans were disfranchised, im- 
prisoned, and denied Christian burial. 

In 1G05, was discovered the Gunpowder Plot (another Bartholo- 
mew). It was got up by the Catholics, to cut off Parliament at a 
blow ; but, being discovered and defeated in it, they, Nero-like, laid 
it to the Puritans. 

The interview at Hampton Court resulted in one very important 
measure, suggested by the Puritans. This was, the translation of 
the Scriptures into English, published in 1611. 

To annoy the Puritans still further, Bishop Moreton drew up, in 
1618, in obedience to the king, the so-called "Book of Sports." It 
recommended that those who came to church (prelates,) twice on 
Lord's day, should, after divine service, " recreate themselves, by 
dancing, archery, leaping, vaulting, May games, whitsun-ales, rnor- 
rice dances, May-pole dancing, and other sports of a like kind." 
And special pains were taken to do all these nice things where it 
would most annoy those who wished to keep the day. Hence the 
secret of the aversion of the Puritans to " dancing, and other sports 
of like kind." 

James died in 1625. Bishop Burnet calls James I., "The scorn 
of the age ; a mere pedant, without true judgment, courage, or 
steadiness ; his reign being a continued course of mean practices." 

What could be expected that such a man would do for religion ? 

Archbishop Laud. — The afiairs of the church were directed, 
under Charles I., by this flaunting and intolerant prelate. He 
gloried in the privileges and practices of the " Court of High Com- 
mission." 

Colonel Lillburne, for refusing to answer all inquiries the "court" 
might put, was fined five thousand pounds, and whipped through 
the public streets. For speaking against the tyranny of the 
bishops, he was gagged, and laid in irons for life, in Fleet Prison. 

Doctor Leighton, for writing a book entitled " Zion's Plea against 
Prelacy," was sentenced by the Star Chamber. At the giving of 
the sentence, Laud pulled off his hat and gave God thanks for the 
decision of the court. 

In his private diary, Laud makes the following record, with evi- 
dent pleasure: "November 6th. 1st. He (Leighton) was severely 
whipped before being put in the pillory; 2d. Being set in 
the pillory, he had one of his ears cut off; 3d. One side of his 
nose slit; 4th. Branded on the cheek, with a red-hot iron, with 



HISTORY OF RELIGION - . 269 

the letters S. S. In sevennight, the rest of the sentence was 
applied to the other cheek also." 

From under these severities, thousands fled to America ; and these 
persecutions drained England of half a million of her citizens. The 
nation became exasperated at the conduct of Laud, and the hor- 
rors of the " court." Laud was at length accused of treason, and, 
after a long imprisonment, he was beheaded, and Episcopacy itself 
abolished. 

Cranmer and Laud had to drink of the cup they gave others to 
drink. 

Oliver Cromwell. — Under this great protector of religion and 
the rights of men, Presbyterianism gained the ascendency in Eng- 
land. Toleration was granted to all, except Catholics and prelaters. 
Against this toleration the Presbyterians complained ; but Crom- 
well, better understanding religious liberty, would not listen to their 
clamors. 

Religious Liberty has got to be quite a promising young man. 

At this time flourished Goodwin, Owen, Flavel, Charnock, Poole, 
Howe, and Baxter. 

Cromwell showed his love for true religion, in the interest he took 
in the poor persecuted Waldenses, and his uniform respect for the 
rights of conscience, by which all were equally protected in the free 
exercise of public worship. Cromwell died in 1658. 

Charles II. — Upon his restoration, Episcopacy was reestablished, 
when the persecution of the Puritans was recommenced. Among 
other disgraceful acts he passed, was the "Act of Uniformity." 

This was designed to bring all ministers to adopt the Book of 
Common Prayer, wear the popish garments, in short, yield to 
prelacy. It took effect on St. Bartholomew's day, August 24th, 1662. 

Heavy was the trial the Puritans had to pass, when, on the fatal 
day, being Sunday, they were taking leave of their congregations 
and parishes, rather than yield to the intolerant and unrighteous act 
of the king. Turned out of home and employ ; exposed to hunger, 
nakedness, and the fury of their persecutors ; and all " for righteous- 
ness' sake." 

But the " Conventicle Act" was found necessary, to check the 
operation of the Act of Uniformity. 

By the first, the ministers were ejected, and the people followed 
them ; the Conventicle Act was designed to break up all their pri- 
vate meetings ; and whoever was found at any meetings, except 
where they used the form of Common Prayer, the magistrate was 
empowered to levy five pounds upon each person, or imprison for 
three months, for the first offence ; ten pounds for the second offence, 



270 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

or six months in prison ; for the third offence, one hundred pounds, 
or be transported for seven years ; and if they returned, or escaped, 
death, without benefit of clergy. The jails were quickly filled. 

And to prevent even family religion, informers (spies, prelatical 
Jesuits), were well paid for informing against the Puritans. They 
were driven at last, according to Christ's words, and as many before 
them had been, " into the dens and caves of the earth." 

The " Five Mile Act " forms the climax of Charles the Second's 
devices for persecution. It aimed at depriving the Dissenters of 
the means of living. An oath was first required, which some noble 
lords then said, "no honest man could take." In case of refusal, it 
restrained all ministers from coming within five miles of any place 
where they had ever preached, on penalty of forty pounds for every 
offence : one. third to the king, one to the poor, and one to the in- 
former. O, prelacy ! prelacy ! 

The Earl of Castlemain, a Roman Catholic, said : " It was never 
known that Roman Catholics persecuted, as the bishops do, those 
who adhere to the same faith with themselves, and establish an 
inquisition against the professors of the strictest piety among them- 
selves ; for, however bloody the persecutions of Queen Mary, .... 
under their persecution above treble have been rifled, destroyed, and 
ruined, in their estates, liberties, and lives ; being, as is most remark- 
able, of the same spirit as those who suffered under Queen Mary." 
During the reigns of Charles II. and James II., eight thousand per- 
ished in prison, and seventy thousand families were ruined in England. 

Judge Jeffries. — Under James II. and Jeffries, w^ere enacted 
the last scenes of infernal prelacy. James sought to enforce Popery 
on the realm, when the nation united and dethroned him; putting 
in his place his son-iu-law, Prince of Orange. 

Petitions poured in, in behalf of friends in prison, guilty of no 
offence whatever, except want of conformity to the rites of the 
Church of England. No one was safe from apprehension and im- 
prisonment. 

Of Jeffries' circuit through the western counties, Bishop Burnet 
says: "In several places in the west, there were executed near six 
hundred persons ; and that the quarters of two or three hundred 
were fixed on gibbets, and hung on trees, all over the country for 
fifty miles around, to the terror of travellers." 

Jeffries himself, in his savage, brutal, infernal glory, boasted that 
he had " hanged more than all the judges of England, since the 
time of William the Conquerer." Upon his return from his bloody 
■work, he was rewarded with the title of " Lord High Chancellor." 
O, England ! England ! 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 271 

But this is the finale: Jeffries has the honor (?) of being the last 
practical butcher of saints. 

Upon the accession of "William, Episcopacy was declared the es- 
tablished religion ; Catholics were excluded from holding any office 
in the nation ; but free toleration was granted to all dissenters 
from the Church of England, except Socinians. 

Religious liberty triumphant in England, over both Prelacy and 
Popery ! 

Archbishop Tillotson, of Canterbury, is said to be the author of 
the custom of preaching with notes. Origen was the author of the 
custom of taking a single text for the subject of a sermon. 

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 

The progress of events in England, had their influence in Scotland, 
and need not be rehearsed. 

Only a few things in addition will be noticed. 

Patrick Hamilton. — The tocsin of reform was first rung in 
Scotland, by the death of Patrick Hamilton, a youth of noble de- 
scent, who, returning from a stay in Germany of two years, began 
to propagate the new opinions. 

To check this bold fellow, the papal party put him to death, in 
1528. Hamilton's death appearing unjust to the Scots, they were 
determined to know what these " new doctrines" meant. 

This inquiry led to the conversion of many of them, and further 
aroused a spirit of inquiry in the nation, that Popery could not check. 

John Knox. — He was designed, in early life, for the ministry; 
and so, when young, gave great attention to the study of divinity. 
The persecution then raging in the country, compelled him to flee 
elsewhere. 

During his exile, he learned of Calvin, at Geneva, and from him 
adopted the Presbyterian form of church discipline and order. 

In 1559, however, he was in his native land, laboring zealously 
and successfully in promoting the cause of the Reformation. Like 
Luther in Germany, Knox, in Scotland, infused his spirit into the 
nation. He was styled the " Apostle of Scotland." He died No- 
vember 4th, 1572. In his eulogium, pronounced as he was laid in 
the grave, was the following : " There lies he who never feared the 
face of man? 

Still, Knox had the fault of prelates, popes, and of too many 
Puritans (?) ; viz., a spirit of persecution. In responding to a sharp 
rebuke he received, for cherishing such a spirit, to which he could 
not reply, he said : " I will not now so much labor to confute, by 



272 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

my pen, as my full purpose is to lay the same to thy charge, if I 
shall apprehend thee in any commonwealth where justice against 
blasphemers may be ministered, as God's word requireth." 

This is the papal argument, when wit and wisdom fail. 

The Scots early adopted for their platform the "Westminster 
Confession of Faith." The attempts of prelacy to force the liturgy 
and popish garments upon the Scotch clergy, met with the most 
determined resistance. 

Charles II. attempted, by sword and surplice, to bend the Scots 
to prelacy, but was at last obliged to desist, and Presbyterianism 
prevailed, in 1648. 

An example of the Scotch spirit is given, on an occasion when an 
English prelate was sent into Scotland, to conduct worship out of the 
" Book of Common Prayer." Taking it as an imposition, immedi- 
ately followed proper resentment. As soon as the reading began, 
an old lady arose, took the stool on which she sat, and hurled it, 
with laudable zeal,, at the prelate's head. Quickly followed the cry : 
" Pope ! Antichrist ! Stone him ! stone him ! " and the stones flew, 
to the great interruption of the prelate. 

Neither British armies nor British prelates could subject the 
Scotch to the mummeries of superstition. 

Scotland shared with England in the establishment of free tolera- 
tion in 1688, — about one hundred and thirteen years after the 
Peace of Religion, — since which time, she, with other parts of 
Christendom, has shared the blessing of God. 

MORAVIANS, OR UNITED BRETHREN. 

This branch of Christians has been noticed. They had their ori- 
gin in the fifteenth century, under the labors, examples, and suffer- 
ings of Huss and Jerome. 

They were the first church of Reformers ; the first who renounced 
the Church of Rome, and formed themselves into a separate com- 
munion. They continue to the present time. (See Hussites.) 



PERIOD n. FROM LANDING OP PILGRIMS, TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

This sect sprung up in England, and, being desirous of a purer 
church, separated from the English Establishment about 1602, — 



HISTORY OF RELIGION". 273 

resolved, " whatever it should cost them," to enjoy liberty of con- 
science. 

The first church had for its first pastor, Mr. Richard Clifton. The 
second pastor was Mr. John Robinson, a convert under Mr. Clifton's 
preaching, and Mr. William Brewster, elder and teacher. 

At this time intolerance was rife, and soon such a class as this 
were made its victims. Exile alone promised shelter from the men- 
aces of prelacy ; and even this was difficult, as the emigration of 
Puritans was strictly forbidden. The prelates meant to keep them, 
and crush them. 

Their departure was attended with difficulty. 

Once they were betrayed by seamen, although they had paid 
them large fees for their services. At another time, they got on 
board a ship, the master sailed a little way and returned, delivering 
them up to their enemies. The next year they made another at- 
tempt. A few had got on board, with none of their effects though; 
their wives and children were coming in a barque. At this junct- 
ure, a posse of armed men came upon them, when the captain, 
fearing trouble, set sail, leaving the women to fall into the hands 
of English Lauds, Jeffries, etc. No persuasion would induce him 
to return. 

In their voyage, a fearful storm arose, which raged seven days, 
without intermission. They were driven upon the coast of Nor- 
way. The sailors' cry arose : " The ship is foundered ! She sinks ! 
she sinks!" But the pilgrims' cry arose: "Yet, Lord, thou canst 
save ! — yet, Lord, thou canst save ! " Soon, to the astonishment 
of all, the ship began to rise, and outrode the storm. On their 
arrival at Holland, they gave most devout thanks to God for their 
safety. 

During the twelve years they lived in Holland, they enjoyed 
peace ; still, sighing for a better land, this side the heavenly. It 
was finally concluded that Mr. Brewster, and a part of the church, 
should go to America, designing that Mr. Robinson and the rest 
should follow ; but his death occurred before time to emigrate. His 
family, and the rest of the church, followed in time. 

Preparation being made for removal, one hundred and one souls 
sailed from Plymouth, England, on September 6th, 1620. Upon an 
island in Plymouth harbor, they hallowed the first Christian Sab- 
bath in New England. 

On the 22d of December, 1620, they stepped upon the strand at 
" Plymouth Rock." Upon their bended knees they thanked the 
God of Heaven, who had preserved their number entire, and per- 
mitted them to land safely. 

35 



274 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

Their number was also increased by one during the voyage. 

Ralph Smith. — This church in the wilderness was without a 
regular pastor for nine years, though having the labors of Mr. 
Brewster. In 1629, Ralph Smith became its pastor: the first Kew 
England pastor. 

Soon others began to flock to America, where to enjoy liberty of 
conscience, and settled at Salem, Charlestown, Roxbury, and around 
about. 

In August 6th, 1629, the first Church of the Pilgrims was formed, 
in Salem, the church at Plymouth sending delegates, by invita- 
tion — Mr. Skelton, the pastor. August 27th, 1630, a church was 
formed at Charlestown ; soon after, one at Dorchester ; the fourth, 
at Boston. Soon after, one in Roxbury ; one in Lynn, and one at 
Watertown. In less than two years from the formation of the first 
church in Salem, there were seven in the colony : like "seven (/olden 
candlesticks" 

As might be expected, the increase of numbers in the colony 
would be likely to bring in diversity of sentiments. The first case 
of this kind occurred in the church at Salem, 1634. 

Roger Williams, one of its ministers, advanced sentiments uncon- 
genial to the settled opinions of the colonists, and, being unwilling 
to " recant," the magistrates, disregarding his rights of conscience, 
banished him beyond the limits of the colony, to seek in exile, as 
they had done, freedom to worship God. 

Sad tale, yet true : the fire — yes, fire — of persecution was 
lighted in Salem. The ashes of martyrs were sown on the virgin 
soil of America. 

This is a problem hard to be solved. For a people. who, only 
twenty-five years before, had been chased into exile like pirates, for 
conscience' sake, and fled to America to escape prelacy, should inflict 
the same diabolism upon one of their own friends and ministers, for 
ojmiion's sake ! Where is Jeffries ? 

Religious liberty, in coming to America, came near getting mur- 
dered. Efforts at oneness of sentiment were made, in shape of plat- 
forms and covenants, with persecutions, until a better day dawned. 

In 1646, at Cambridge, was formed the "Cambridge Platform;" 
in 1657, at Boston, the "Half-way Covenant;" in 1708, was formed 
the " Saybrook Platform." 

As soon, however, as it was discovered that persecution for con- 
science' sake was contrary to the Scriptures, it was abandoned ; and 
now religious liberty adorns the churches and the nation. 






HISTORY OF RELIGION. 275 

BAPTISTS. 

This sect of Christians claim their origin to have been in the time 
and person of John the Baptist. 

Whilst they claim that churches existed in the times of the apos- 
tles, and have ever since, holding similar views with themselves, yet 
they do not place so much stress upon the argument of Apostolic 
Succession, as, that their aim and purpose is, to maintain the apostolic 
order in church matters. They aim, very earnestly, at skilfulness in 
understanding the things " written to the churches ; " calling no one 
master but Christ, and admitting no code of faith and discipline but 
exactly accords with the Bible. 

Doctor Mosheim says : " The true origin of the Anabaptists (as 
he calls them), is hid in the remote depths of antiquity, and is, of 
course, extremly difficult to be ascertained. There were some among 
the Waldenses, Albigenses, Petro-brussians, and other ancient sects, 
who appear to have entertained the notions of the Anabaptists." 

In the days of the Reformation, they bore no little share of malig- 
nity and persecution from the enemies of truth ; and even from the 
great Reformer himself, they were compelled to feel the force of 
his disapprobation. 

During the reign of Henry VIII., some of them fled from perse- 
cution at home, and took refuge in England. But here they were 
cruelly persecuted, and many of them put to death. Every faith, 
under the reign of Henry and Cranmer, except Prelacy, felt the 
weight of their intolerance. In the reign of Elizabeth, they were 
banished from England, and took refuge in Holland. 

In 1608, some of the Independents in England separated from 
their own communion, sent one of their number to Holland to be 
baptized by the Dutch Anabaptists ; returning to England, he bap- 
tized the rest of the society, about fifty in number. From this time 
they put away the Ana, attached to their name, and adopted that of 
Baptists, 

For many years the English Baptists suffered in common with the 
other dissenters, especially during the reign of the infamous Court 
of High Commission and the Star Chamber ; and in 1662, by an act 
of uniformity, of Charles II., were ejected from their pulpits. 

The year 1684, is the period of Bunyan's death. 

At the Revolution, in 1688, on the accession of William of Orange, 
the Baptists, with other " dissenters," gained a legal toleration, which 
they have enjoyed to the present time. 

But America proved, in those troublous times, the asylum for the 
oppressed. 






276 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

The banishment of Roger Williams from Massachusetts, though 
an act of persecution, was overruled, in the providence of God, for 
the greatest possible good to mankind. 

Driven from the sheltering care of the pilgrims, to seek a home 
where he could, in the wilderness and among the red men of America, 
he wandered about, until he saw human forms in Providence Bay ; 
and putting the question to them, " What cheer ? " was answered, 
" Good cheer ; " he landed. 

The beautiful city of Providence, Rhode Island, marks the spot 
where the pilgrim set foot from the troubled- ocean, and from the 
raging waves of persecution ; and, in gratitude for heavenly guid- 
ance and care, he named the hallowed place "Providence." 

In 1636, Roger Williams, having purchased territory of the In- 
dians, commenced to found a colony, on the express principles of reli- 
gions liberty. In 1638, others having joined him, and purchased the 
territory of the present State of Rhode Island, a voluntary govern- 
ment was formally instituted, by a solemn covenant of all, to " sub- 
mit to the order of the major part, in civil things only." 

Behold the child, Religious Liberty, born in 1526, under Doctor 
Luther, now come of age, and set up for himself, under his last 
guardian, Roger Williams. 

Here are dissolved the banns of wedlock, solemnized by the Em- 
peror Constantine, between the Roman Empire and the Christian 
Church, in 306, divorced by Roger Williams, in 1638. 

This was the first State Constitution ever formed upon the princi- 
ple of perfect religious liberty. 

This is putting into practice the great sentiment of Jesus Christ : 
" Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's ; and to God the 
things that are God's." 

The first Baptist Church in America was formed in 1639, at Prov- 
idence, Rhode Island, by Roger Williams. 

Bancroft has justly said : "If Copernicus is held in perpetual rev- 
erence, because on his death-bed he published to the world that the 
sun is the centre of our system ; if the name of Kepler is preserved 
in the annals of human excellence for his sagacity in detecting the 
laws of planetary motion ; if the genius of Newton has been almost 
adored for dissecting a ray of light, and weighing the heavenly 
bodies in a balance, — let there be for the name of Roger Williams 
at least some humble place among those who have advanced moral 
science, and made themselves the benefactors of mankind." 

If Claude of Turin be regarded as the author of the Reformation, 
certainly Williams of Providence was the finisher. 

The Baptists are still the earnest defenders of the Bible, as the 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 277 

rule of faith, and religious liberty, as the inalienable right of all 
men. 

METHODISTS. 

John" Wesley. — This sect owe their origin to John Wesley, a 
native of England, born 1703. While a tutor in the University of 
Oxford, 1729 (where the celebrated Wickliffe was Professor of Divin- 
ity, in about 1350), Wesley became impressed with the importance 
of a deeper attention to spiritual things. 

Being joined by some students, among them George Whitefield, 
their devotion and reserve in manners soon gained for them, by way 
of derision, the name of " Methodists," none thinking to what this 
little band would grow. 

Though the Methodists had their rise after the fearful battles for 
religious liberty were fought, and the Peace of Religion established, 
yet they have the honor of being the first sect of great note that 
arose after the Reformation ; and were also the leaders in the first 
general revival of religion, on both sides of the Atlantic, after free- 
dom to worship God was obtained. 

The popularity and increase of the Methodists was such, that Mr. 
Wesley was invited to accompany a new colony to Georgia, under 
General Oglethorpe, as spiritual guide, and also to preach to the 
Indians. 

Mr. Wesley found, soon after his return from Georgia, a large 
number who acknowledged him as their religious leader, and whom 
he gradually organized into a distinct sect. The first society was 
organized in London. 

Wesley died in 1791, aged eighty-seven, and the sixty-fifth of his 
ministry ; having travelled three hundred thousand miles, and 
preached forty thousand sermons. 

The year 1766 marks the introduction of Methodism into Amer- 
ica. In 1784, the American Methodists became independent of 
those in England. The first American Bishop was Francis Asbury. 
The increase of this zealous people has been very rapid. 

George Whitefield. — Meanwhile, Mr. Whitefield was preaching 
with great success in England. He was ordained in the Church of 
England, June 30th, 1736. At this time he received letters from 
Wesley, to come to America, which he did, in 1736. He returned in 
the following year to England, received priest's orders, and, for want 
of churches, commenced preaching in the open air, with great success. 

Whitefield visited America again in 1739, and returned to England 
in 1741. 

During this absence, Mr. Wesley had changed his views some- 



278 HISTORY OF RELIGION. 

what, upon the doctrine of Perfection, and against Election, which 
caused a separation between him and Whitefield, which is continued 
to this day between their followers. 

Whitefield, nevertheless, continued to preach, both sides of the 
ocean, with unabated popularity and success. He closed this life at 
Newburyport, Mass., 1770, having crossed the Atlantic fourteen 
times, and been the means of bringing thousands to embrace the 
gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

He never formed his followers into a distinct sect, but continued 
a member of the English Establishment himself, and advised them 
to follow his example. After his death, however, they formed a 
union, and are known by the name of Whitefield^ or Calvinistic 
Methodists. 

Mr. Whitefield said in his will : " I leave a mourning-ring to my 
honored and dear friends and disinterested fellow-laborers, the 
Reverends John and Charles Wesley, in token of my indissoluble 
union with them in heart and affection, notwithstanding our difference 
in judgment about some particular points of doctrine." 

MISSIONS. 

The eighteenth century was one pregnant and prolific of great 
men and measures for the advancement of the Church of Christ 
among all the nations of the earth. 

Missionary Societies, Sabbath Schools, Bible and Tract Societies, 
all rushed to the glorious work of giving to the nations of the earth 
the treasures of the Word of Life. 

Indeed, the night of despotism, with here and there a twinkling 
star, had continued from the creation to the Peace of Religion, or 
until the invention of printing, and the revival of Bible faith and 
Bible reading. No measure ever did half so much for the establish- 
ment of civil and religious liberty in the world, as the free circula- 
tion of the Bible among all nations, and in all the dialects of the 
earth. The Lord speed and establish the knowledge of himself 
throughout the earth ! 

Jtjdsox. — Much had been done in behalf of Missions in England 
previous to Judson's time ; but his name stands at the head of the 
missionary enterprise in America. 

Having, with others, imbibed the desire to go forth to the be- 
nighted, no discouragements nor persuasions would induce him to 
yield the darling purpose. This purpose was laid before the Massa- 
chusetts General Association. 

In accordance with a suggestion of Doctors Worcester and Spring, 



HISTORY OF RELIGION. 279 

the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was 
agreed upon and chosen, June 29th, 1810. 

Judson was immediately sent to England, to ascertain if a con- 
nection could be formed with the London Missionary Society. Find- 
ing them reluctant to make the connection with the Board in 
America, he then solicited an appointment as missionaries of him- 
self and colleagues, by the London Society, in case the American 
Board should fail to send them. 

This being done, Judson returned to America, full of hope, and 
reported the result of his visit to London. The Board were not 
prepared to send them at once, and the London Society declined the 
proposed union. 

An alternative presented itself: the Board must send them, or lose 
th*em. The faith of the Board was hardly equal to the task ; and 
yet they must do something. At this juncture, the ardent and hope- 
ful spirit of Judson manifested a little independence of manner 
towards the Board. Relying upon his appointment by the London 
Society, he intimated to the Board that his way was clear, and that 
their cooperation was not essential, 

It was not altogether the most agreeable condition to be placed 
in, for the power of destiny to be so completely monopolized by 
these youths, and the fathers put at bay ; but God here had a pur- 
pose to fulfil. 

The Board stepped forward to the task of sending them ; and 
from this event arose the spirit of Missions in America. 

On the fifth of February, 1812, Mr. Judson, and Miss Ann Hassel- 
tine, were married. On the sixth, he was ordained at Salem, in com- 
pany with Messrs. Nott, Newell, Hall, and Rice. 

On the nineteenth of February, 1812, Mr. and Mrs. Judson, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Newell, embarked at Salem, in the brig Caravan, Cap- 
tain Heard, bound for Calcutta. Nott, Hall, and Rice sailed in the 
Harmony, from Philadelphia. 

This was the inauguration of Missions in America. Soon it per- 
vaded all branches of the Christian Church, and great good has been 
done thereby. 

During Judson's last days, he said : " The salvation of six thou- 
sand Burmans amply rewards all my feeble toil." 

In review, no student of the History of Religion can fail to see 
that God has ever had a people and a cause, in all ages of the world ; 
and can easily conceive, that no emergency can arise more difficult 
than has already been ; and hence, finally, that God ever will have 
a name and a people while the world stands. 

So let it be. Amen. 



BOOK II 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE 



36 



I. 

PATRIARCHAL AGE. 

FROM THE CREATION TO THE FLOOD. 

SUBJECT — PROFANE HISTORY. 

Empire has a history as well as religion ; still we find that God 
has not been so careful to preserve in existence any distinct civil 
community, from the creation down, as he has a people to serve 
him " in spirit and in truth." 

Religion is first in time, as well as in importance, to individuals 
and nations. 

Caindom. — The beginning of empire, before the flood, was with 
Cain. After his rejection from the Lord, he took his wife and went 
into a section called "Nod," i. e., wandering and vagabondage, so 
named because he was to be a wanderer and vagabond while he 
lived ; — his punishment for the murder of Abel. He was not cut 
off from having children, for he knew his wife, and she bare him a 
son, and called his name Enoch. Soon Cain founded a city, and 
called it after his son, Enoch, — the first city ever built. 

This formed a nucleus, from which similar enterprises originated, 
and the march of empire took its course. 

Jabal. — The early necessities and fancies of mankind were sim- 
ilar to what they are now. Hence we find Jabal applying himself 
to the raising of cattle ; and, instead of building a city and locating 
himself, he lived in movable tents, thus originating the shepherd's 
mode of life, still kept up by the Arabs. The convenience of a 
wandering mode of life for plunder and piracy, by land and sea, 
has caused it to be prolific in those high crimes. 

Jubal. — Such is the innate character of music, that we find, 
within two hundred years from the Creation, it was reduced by 
Jubal both to a science and an art. He invented, and could handle, 
the harp and organ, and was doubtless the first music teacher and 
player. 

Tubal Cain. — He seems to have discovered the art of working 
the metals, particularly brass and iron. Implements of husbandry, 
hunting, and warfare, were doubtless the first made and used. 
Tubal Cain is supposed to be the Vulcan of mythology, — " the 



284 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

blacksmith of hell." Also Naamah, his sister, is the Venus of 
mythology. 

Paeties. — Thus inaugurated, we may easily imagine the world 
would go on, much as in later times. " There were giants in those 

days, .... mighty men, men of renown." Such characters 

would naturally attract attention, and draw, followers after them. 
A little pride of party would soon grow into boasting, which would 
lead to a challenge, and that to a fight. The fight over, those who 
were victorious would exact something of the vanquished, which 
would humble them, and gratify the pride of the conquerors. Out 
of this would naturally grow a government of chiefs, — the first 
and most natural form of government. 

Pride of conquest would next inflame the breasts of these chiefs, 
and hence, as we find stated, " violence and wickedness" would fill 
the earth. 

In the trail of conquest is generally found all that debases. Hence 
God, "seeing the thoughts of the imagination of man's heart were 
evil, and that continually," which would be the case in the study 
and pursuit of warfare, determined to put an end to conquest and 
empire by a deluge. 

Noah's Family. — After the flood, God renewed the privileges 
to Noah and his family that he granted to Adam, namely, of 
dominion over the animals, and possession of the world. 

Accordingly, we find them rapidly spreading over the East, each 
tribe bearing the name of its progenitor, e. g., Assyrians, from 
Asshur ; Elamites, from Elam ; Lydiaus, from Lud ; Medes, from 
Madai; Ionians, from Javan ; Thracians, from Tiras ; Gauls, from 
Gomer ; Axenus, or Euxine Sea, from Ashkenaz ; Moguls, and Mus- 
covites, from Magog ; Palestine, from Pathrusim ; Jerusalem, from 
Jebus ; Padanaram, from Aram. Shem's descendants peopled the 
East ; Ham's, Africa, Palestine, and. Arabia. Japheth's, peopled 
Europe. 



I.— AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

BABYLON. 

PERIOD I. PROM NniROD, 1771 A. M., 2233 B. 0., TO SARDA^APALTTS, 3184 A. M., 

820 B. C. 

Babel. — Soon after the flood, an attempt was made to build a 
tower on the plain of Shinar, " whose top should reach to heaven." 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 285 

The enterprise being offensive to God, he put an end to it by the 
" confusion of tongues," which disabled the builders for prosecuting 
their work, and a dispersion followed. 

Nineveh. — This was the first city founded after the flood ; — 
1775 A. M., 2229 B. C. Asshur, son of Shem, is said to have been 
its founder. 

It grew to be fifteen miles in length, nine broad, and forty-seven 
in circumference. On the walls, which were one hundred feet 
high, three chariots could pass abreast. It had on the walls fifteen 
hundred towers, each two hundred feet high. In the time of 
Jonah, its inhabitants amounted to six hundred thousand. 

Babylon. — Nimrod, grandson of Ham, is said to have been the 
founder of this city. He is supposed to be the " Belus" of profane 
history; hence the first man who was made an object of worship. 

Chedorlaomer, a king of Elam (or Babylon), was repulsed by 
Abraham. 

Babylon and Nineveh, though separate, were, from time to time, 
made alternately the seat of empire. 

Ntnus, — Son of Belus, or Nimrod, succeeded his father as sove- 
reign, or chief. Becoming enamored with the wife of one of his 
officers, he married her after her husband's death. He was a war- 
rior, and made several conquests. 

Semiramis. — She is said to have been the wife of Ninus (men- 
tioned above, but very doubtful) ; she took the throne after the 
death of her husband. She was possessed of exquisite beauty, and 
an heroic soul. She enlarged and beautified Babylon, making walls 
around the city, quays, bridge, a lake, canals and banks for draining 
the river (possibly the means Cyrus used to take Babylon), the pal- 
ace, hanging gardens, and the temple of Belus. 

To do all these works, she employed two millions of men. 

Babylon stood four square, with the points of compass ; the 
Euphrates divided it equally from north to south. Its walls were 
eighty-seven feet thick, three hundred and fifty feet high, and sixty 
miles long, and stood in an exact square. On each side of this 
great square were twenty gates of solid brass. From each gate ran 
streets, crossing each other at right angles — in all, fifty. Next the 
walls, inside and around the city, was a street two hundred feet 
wide, the rest being one hundred and fifty wide. The city was 
thus cut into squares ; these were surrounded with houses, three 
and four stories high. The areas within the squares were filled up 
with yards, gardens, and pleasure grounds. 

Her last attempt at conquest failed. This she made upon an 
Indian king. He disputed the passage of the river Indus with her, 



286 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

in a bloody battle ; but she finally drove him. Leaving sixty thou- 
sand men to guard a bridge, made of boats, she pursued him into 
the country. After retreating as far as he cared to, he faced about, 
gave her battle, and drove her back. In this battle, more bloody 
than the first, he received two wounds. She returned with only 
one-third of her army (a type of Napoleon's campaign to Russia). 

Finding, soon after, that Ninias, her son, was plotting against 
her, she abdicated; or, as it is thought, Ninias procured her 
assassination. 

Ninias. — He was unlike his predecessors; instead of being a 
"mighty one," he was intent on pleasure. He lived in retirement, 
and held power by keeping trusty onicers, and changing his soldiers 
yearly, to prevent conspiracies between them and the onicers. 

Saedanapaltts. — He is represented as one of the most effemi- 
nate of mankind. He adopted the dress of females, spun with 
them, and spent his time with his women and eunuchs. His city 
being besieged, he gathered his women, eunuchs, and treasures, into 
his palace, set fire to it, and all perished together. His kingdom 
fell into the hands of the conspirators, who had become disgusted 
with him, namely, Arbaces, became King of Media; Belesis, of Baby- 
lon ; and Pul, of Assyria. 



II. 

AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

PROFANE HISTORY. 

* 

PERIOD II. FROM SARDANAPALUS, 3184 A. M., 820 B. C, TO BELSHAZZAR, 3466 

A. M., 538 B. C. 

Pul. — Supposed to be the King of Nineveh, who, with his peo- 
ple, repented at the preaching of Jonah. He also made war upon 
Menahem, of Israel, and exacted of him a heavy tribute. 

Tiglath-Pileser. — He conquered that portion of Israel east 
of Jordan, and carried off many captives. 

Shalmaneser. — He put an end to the Ten Tribes of Israel, car- 
rying them into captivity, and repeopling their country with 
Cuthites. 

Sennacherib. — He invaded Judah, wrote a most blasphemous 
letter to Hezekiah, and prepared to besiege Jerusalem. But the 
angel of the Lord destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand 
of his army in one night, whereupon he returned to his own coun- 
try in disgrace. His two sons murdered him, in his temple of Nis- 
roch, in Babylon. 

Nebuchadnezzar I. — About one hundred and eight years after 
Sennacherib, he ruled in Babylon. Destroying Nineveh, and pitt- 
ing an end to the Assyrian Monarchy, he made Babylon the seat of 
empire. 

Nebuchadnezzar II. — He destroyed Jerusalem, robbed the 
temple, and carried the Jews captive to Babylon. 

Belshazzar. — He succeeded to the throne, and was the last of 
the Kings of Babylon. During the siege of the city, he held a 
sumptuous feast with his court. 

Whilst engaged in his riotings, profanely using the golden ves- 
sels of the temple taken by Nebuchadnezzar, he was surprised by a 
hand writing on the wall of his " house of feasting." 

Regardless of what was going on without, Cyrus, the Persian, 
had now succeeded in turning the river Euphrates, and marched 
his army through the arch in the wall, and entered Babylon in tri- 
umph. In that night Belshazzar was slain, and the Persian Mon- 
archy set up. 



288 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

How insignificant is empire, unaccompanied with some direct 
measure for the benefit of mankind ! 

PERSIA. 

PERIOD I. FROM CYRUS, 3466 A. H., 538 B. C, TO DARIUS CODOMAIsTJS, 3680 A. M., 

324 B. C. 

The first inhabitants of Persia were called Elamites, From Elam, 
eldest son of Shem. Little is known of them for sixteen centuries. 
Chedorlaamer, interfered with the King of Soclom, and was re- 
pulsed by Abraham. 

Dejoces, is mentioned as the first king of the Medes, 690 B. C. 
Astyages and Cyaxares II. are mentioned also as kings of Medes. 
The former marrying his daughter to Cainbyses, King of Persia, 
Cyrus was the issue. 

Cyaxares (Cyrus' uncle) and Cyrus united against Babylon, and, 
by cutting deep and large ditches beside the Euphrates, opened the 
gates and drained the river, and thereby took the city. 

Cyrus. — After two years' associate reign with Cyaxares, Cyrus 
was sole monarch of the most important countries of the East. 
Cyrus is represented as a very amiable and temperate youth, refus- 
ing even to taste wine, when acting as cup-bearer, on a visit to 
Astyages, his grandfather. 

Among the captives of Cyrus, was Croesus, King of the Lydians. 
After Croesus was taken prisoner, he was condemned to be burnt 
alive. While being led to the funeral pile, he exclaimed aloud : 
"Solon! Solon! Solon!" 

On being asked why he repeated that celebrated philosopher's 
name with such vehemence at that time, he said that Solon's remark, 
that " no mortal could be esteemed happy till the end of life," had 
forcibly recurred to him. Cyrus was so struck with this sentiment, 
that he released Croesus from his fate, and ever after treated him 
with great respect. This was the wealthy person about whom the 
proverb is made : "Rich as Croesus." 

The name of Cyrus is memorable for the famous edict he passed 
in the first year of his reign, for the return of the Jews, and the re- 
building of their temple at Jerusalem. His reign is said to have 
been a model one. In an expedition against the Scythians, he was 
surprised and slain by an ambuscade, 529 B. C. 

Cambyses. — Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses, called 
in Scripture Artaxerxes. He added Egypt to the Persian realm, 
and it remained so one hundred and twelve years. 

He took Pelusium, the " Key of Egypt," by the stratagem of 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 289 

placing a drove of animals, considered sacred by the Egyptians, in 
front of his army, and so entered the city without resistance. 

Darius. — After the usurpation of Smerdis, of seven months, 
Darius was elected to the throne. He renewed the edict for the 
rebuilding of the Jewish temple, after the work had been hindered. 

Acmetha, where the rolls were found containing the decree of 
Cyrus for the return of the Jews, is thus described : The building 
of the city is ascribed to Semiramis by some. " It was surrounded 
by seven walls, strong and ample, built in circles, one within 
another, rising one above the other by the height of their respect- 
ive battlements, each distinguished by a different color, — the first 
white, the second black, the third purple, the fourth blue, the fifth 
orange, the sixth plated with silver, the seventh with gold. Within 
the inner circle stood the king's palace and the royal treasury." 
The circumference of the outer wall was two hundred and fifty 
furlongs. 

The Asiatic Greeks attempted to throw off the Persian yoke, and 
were assisted by the Athenians. Whereupon Darius marched his 
armies into Greece, purposing its entire conquest. He was beaten 
at the celebrated battle of Marathon. 

Xerxes. — He was the son of Darius, and made the second in- 
vasion of Greece, with the largest army ever known. During this 
campaign, the battle of Thermopylae was fought. After several 
severe losses, Xerxes returned, having suffered a total defeat. 

Darius JSTothus. — Under him, the tenth King of Persia, the 
Egyptians recovered their government from Persia. 

Artaxerxes Mnemon. — So called from his prodigious memory. 
He is said to have retained the name of each one of his soldiers, 
and remembered every act of his life. ( See Adrian, of Rome.) His 
brother Cyrus employed ten thousand Greeks to aid in obtaining 
the Persian throne. Cyrus was killed. The Greek general being 
also killed, the army chose Xenophon to conduct them home: 
called the "Retreat of the Ten Thousand." 

Darius Codomanus. — He was the fourteenth and last king of 
Persia, and was overthrown by Alexander the Great, 331 B. C. So 
ends the second great empire of antiquity. 

37 



290 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

I. — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

EGYPT— FROM MENES TO CLEOPATRA. 

PERIOD I. FK03T MENES, 1816 A. M., 2188 B. C, TO THE END 0E THE SHEPHERD 
KINGS, 2244 A. 31., AND 1760 B. C. 

Mejv t es. — He -was the founder of Egyptian empire, and is sup- 
posed to be Mizraim, one of the sons of Ham. 

He appears to have been very popular, — his wisdom and abilities 
rendered him so. He built the tower of Memphis. After his death, 
he was worshipped as a god, as was NImrod. His children divided 
the realm into four kingdoms — Thebes, Thin, Memphis, and Tanais. 

In the kingdom of Thebes, Athothes I. reigned at an early 
period. He was afterwards worshipped as Mercury. 

Thebes is mentioned by Homer, under the name Hecatompylos ; 
i. e., having one hundred gates. In the time of its splendor, it 
could send into the field, by each of its gates, two hundred chariots, 
and two thousand fighting men. Its extent was fifty-two miles. 
So great was its wealth, that, after it had been plundered by the 
Persians, seven and a half millions of dollars in gold, and one and 
a half in silver, were gathered as gleanings. 

Tosorthros reigned in Memphis not long after Menes. From his 
knowledge of physic, he was styled Esculapius. He also invented 
the arts of building and writing. 

Timaus. — He is the last of the Menean kings; as, under his 
reign, Egypt was invaded by a fierce race of shepherds, from the 
east, who conquered the country. 

Shepherd Kixgs. — These were literally shepherds, who in- 
vaded Egypt, about two thousand years before Christ. Like most 
conquerors, they destroyed the strong men, so as to weaken the 
nation for war, and reduced the women and children to slavery. 
Indeed, whatever was necessary to render themselves masters of 
the country, they failed not to do. 

They very soon fortified a place called Avaris (and " The Pass," 
also Pelusium), and garrisoned it with two hundred and forty thou- 
sand soldiers, as a protection against the Assyrians, who, they feared, 
might follow their own example of conquest. 

Cheops. — Wishing to keep the natives employed, and so quiet, 
Cheops, or Ruchma — so surnamed from his immense wealth — com- 
menced the first of the pyramids, those standing monuments of 
ancient ostentation and tyranny. 

He shut the temples, and reduced the people at once to the con- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 291 

dition of slaves. Some were sent into the Arabian mountains to 
hew stones, and drag them to the Nile ; others set to transport 
them in boats to the edge of the Lybian Desert. 

In this service one hundred thousand men were employed, being 
relieved every three months. Ten years were spent in preparing 
the hill on which the pyramid was built, and in excavating cham- 
bers under ground, and preparing a causeway on which to transport 
the stones, — the latter being covered with polished marble, orna- 
mented with the figures of animals. 

The pyramid itself was a work of twenty years. It is of square 
form, and rising to a point in the centre, the base covering eleven 
acres of ground, and its height five hundred feet. After being laid 
in very strong cement, it was coated from the top downwards. The 
items of expense were recorded in Egyptian characters upon the 
structure ; one item of which was for radishes, onions, and garlic, 
consumed by the workmen, amounting to forty millions of dollars. 

Oephrenes. — He was brother of Cheops; pursued the same policy, 
and built a smaller pyramid. The aversion for these two kings was 
such, that the Egyptians mentioned their names, even, with the 
greatest reluctance. 

This circumstance explains the allusion of Joseph, when directing 
his brethren to report themselves to Pharaoh as cattle-men, instead 
of shepherds; "for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyp- 
tians." 

After ruling Egypt about two hundred and fifty years, the Egyp- 
tian princes rebelled against these tyrants, and drove them out. 

The shepherds, however, retreated to Avaris, where the Egyptians 
found they could not be taken, and, by a treaty on both sides, the 
shepherds were allowed to depart peaceably. About two hundred 
and forty thousand souls left Egypt, and, fearing Assyria, they set- 
tled in Judea, and built Jerusalem. From the words poll (shep- 
herds), and start (land), it is easy to see that Palistan, or Palestine, 
is meant. Hence the " Shepherd Kings" were the progenitors of 
the more modern " Philistines." 

Besides the pyramids, Egypt boasts also of its Thebes, with one 
hundred gates ; its Labyrinth, with one thousand chambers, and its 
vast mummy-pits. 

A domestic custom among the Egyptians, was to mix their dough 
with their feet, and temper their mortar with their hands. 



292 HISTORY OF EMPIRE 



IL — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

PERIOD II. FROM SHEPHERD KINGS, 2244 A. M., AND 1760 B. C, TO ALEXANDER 
THE GREAT, 3668 A. M., 336 B. C. 

Mceris. — He is a renowned King of Egypt. His great work 
was an artificial lake, bearing his name, fifty miles in length, and ten 
in width. Its design was to take up the surplus waters of the Nile, 
and return them gradually at low water. 

Egypt exhibits great advance in the knowledge of mechanics, 
medicine, and astronomy. Yet, with all this "light of nature," they 
were confirmed and stupid idolaters. 

Nitocris. — She is supposed to have begun to reign 1678 B. C. 
She had revenge upon some of her subjects, for the death of her 
brother, by inviting a large number of them to a feast, in an under- 
ground room, and then turning the river, through a secret passage, 
upon them. She was then obliged to flee to a tower, to escape 
the rage of the people. She was extremely beautiful, and equally 
cruel. 

Sesostris. — He is the first Egyptian conqueror. He formed the 
design of conquering the world, and set out with six hundred thou- 
sand foot, twenty-four thousand horse, and twenty-seven thousand 
armed chariots. His conquests were extensive, and he returned 
laden with spoils. He enriched his country with useful works and 
magnificent edifices. 

He was very insolent to the kings and chiefs he conquered, having 
harnessed some of them, four abreast, to his car, to draw him to his 
temple, instead of horses. In his old age he lost his sight, and, 
weak and wicked, laid violent hands upon himself. 

Apophis. — He is supposed to have been the Pharaoh drowned 
in the Red Sea. 

Amosis. — He abolished human sacrifices, and conquered Heli- 
opolis. 

Hermes Trismegistes. — He is celebrated for his philosophical 
writings. He added five days to the year, which before consisted of 
three hundred and sixty. 

AcTiSANES — King of Ethiopia, united Egypt to his kingdom. 
He hunted the Egyptian robbers, cut off their noses, and banished 
them to Rhinocolura, in the desert, a town he built for the special 
benefit of the noseless. 

Cetes — Refused hospitality to Paris and Helen, in their elope- 
ment. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. Z\)o 

Shishak, — King of Egypt, besieged and pillaged Jerusalem, in 
the reign of Pehoboam. He built many temples and cities, and 
dug canals. 

Ramases. — His peculiarity was avarice. He did nothing, either 
for the gods or the people, by way of munificence. His private 
treasure amounted to ten thousand millions of dollars. 

Amenophis and Thuoris, who succeeded, were of little note. 

Sabbacon, or So. — He was an Ethiopian ; conquered Egypt. 
While there, acquired a reputation for wisdom and integrity. Pie 
voluntarily relinquished the sceptre of Egypt, and returned to 
Ethiopia. This was the So, King of Egypt, with whom Hoshea, 
King of Israel, made a league against Shalmaneser, King of Assyria. 

Tharaca. — He is called, in Scripture, Tirhakah. He made war 
with Sennacherib, King of Assyria. After him, there was an anarchy 
of two years, and an aristocracy of twelve governors, for fifteen 
years. 

Pharaoh-Necho. — He made war upon the Assyrians, under 
Nebuchadnezzar. To do this, Necho had to pass through the terri- 
tory of Josiah, King of the Jews. The Assyrians and Jews being 
at peace, Josiah felt that he would be countenancing Necho's inva- 
sion if he allowed him to pass through his territory, against his ally, 
without opposing him. 

In giving battle to Necho, at Meggiddo, Josiah was slain. On 
his return from Assyria, Necho revenged himself upon the Jews by 
taking Jerusalem, dethroning Jehoahaz, Josiah's oldest son, and put- 
ting Jehoiakim, his youngest son, upon the throne of Judah ; put 
the land under tribute ; carried Jehoahaz in chains to Egypt, where 
he died. 

Psammenitus. — Nebuchadnezzar repaid, in some measure, the 
invasion of Necho. 

Cyrus conquered the Egyptians, and held them with an easy 
sway. Taking advantage of his clemency, they attempted a revolt. 
But, under Psammenitus, the Egyptians were .humbled by Cam- 
byses, son of Cyrus the Great. He took Pelusium (" The Pass," the 
same as Avaris), by putting sacred animals before his army. 

Psammenitus, manifesting some desire to rid himself of the con- 
querer's yoke, was compelled to drink bull's blood, and died miser- 
ably. 

Thus was inaugurated the first Persian administration. For a 
series of years after the subjugation of Egypt by Cambyses, it 
passed through a variety of changes and revolts. It finally regained 
its independence, 413 B. C, through 

Amyrthaeus. — Egypt continued independent for sixty years. 



294: HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

under eight kings. It was able to maintain this independence by 
the aid received from the Greeks. 

Nectanebis. — Under him, ancient Egypt lost, and has never 
yet recovered, its independence. It was then reduced again to the 
Persian yoke, by Artaxerxes Ochus, and remained so until Persia 
was overthrown by Alexander the Great. 



PERIOD III. PROJI ALEXANDER, 3668 A. M., AND 336 B. C, TO CLEOPATRA, 3974 
A. M., 30 B. C- ABOUT THREE HUNDRED YEARS. 

Ptolemy Soter. — He was placed upon the throne of the Pha- 
raohs by Alexander, and is said to have been the son of Philip, by a 
concubine, hence half brother to Alexander. 

This is called the Ptolemean dynasty. " Soter" signifies saviour, 
a name given him by the Rhodians, in gratitude for the protection 
he afforded them. 

Soter is represented as an eminent general and statesman, a man 
of learning, and a patron of literature. He founded the famous 
Alexandrian Library, erected the tower of Pharos, one of the 
seven wonders of the world. He built new cities, repaired old ones, 
rendered the canals again navigable, restored prosperity to Egypt, 
and conquered Syria. He reigned thirty-nine years. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus. — Called " lover of his brother," in de- 
rision, for putting his two brothers to death. Son of Soter. 

He followed the example of his father, in public works, and fin- 
ished the canal from Suez to the Nile. His court surpassed all 
others of the age, as a seat of learning, politeness, and the arts ; and 
was illustrated by Theocratus, and other men of genius. During 
his reign, the celebrated version of the Old Testament into Greek, 
called the Septuagint, was made, after the request (at the sugges- 
tion of Demetrius, his librarian) had been made for a copy of the 
Jews' sacred book, for the Alexandrian Library. This was the first 
translation of the Bible. 

Ptolemy Eueegetes, — Or Benefactor; so called for restoring 
the idols to Egypt, carried away by Cambyses. He made a success- 
ful expedition against Antiochus of Syria. 

Ptolemy Philopater — Or, "lover of his father," in derision, for 
having put his father to death. He was cruel, sanguinary, and per- 
secuting. He undertook to penetrate into the " holy of holies," at 
Jerusalem, against the most earnest remonstrances of the priests. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 295 

But, as he pressed forward to enter the sanctuary, he fell, palsied 
and senseless, upon the floor, and had to be carried out. 

Indignant at this repulse, he determined to have revenge upon the 
Jews in Egypt. So, collecting a multitude of them in the hippo- 
drome, he let loose upon them five hundred elephants. They, how- 
ever, turned upon the spectators, and slew more of them than of 
the Jews, though forty thousand of them are said to have perished. 

The other Ptolemies were all surnamed : as, Epiphanes, or, Illus- 
trious, though his was a weak and inglorious reign ; Philometer, 
Lover of his Mother, and is said to have hated her ; Physcon, Big- 
bellied, or deformed ; Chick-pea, from a bunch, like a pea, on his 
nose ; Auletes, or, Flute-player. 

Ptolemy Dionysius. — He came to the throne at the age of 
thirteen, and had his sister Cleopatra for his queen. She caused 
him to be murdered, and then assumed the sole rule. 

Cleopatra. — She has the reputation of being both famous and 
infamous. She was the last of the Ptolemies. 

Her personal charms, polite learning, brilliant wit, musical voice, 
high station, and voluptuous manners, rendered her a bad specimen 
of true womanly excellence. 

When summoned to appear before Mark Antony, to answer to 
the charge of favoring the conspiracy against Caesar, she came decked 
in all the emblems of a queen of love, and was successful in turning 
the attention of the Roman emperor from her cause to herself. 
From this time, Antony revelled in pleasure with the beautiful 
Egyptian queen, till the death of both. 

Possessed of immense wealth, they vied with each other in giving 
sumptuous feasts, Cleopatra taking the palm. At one time, she, 
to be sure to excel, caused one of her ear-pearls, worth two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, to be dissolved in an acid, and then drank 
it. 

After the battle of Actium, Octavius tried to persuade her to take 
Antony's life ; this she refused to do, but offered to deliver him and 
her kingdom to Octavius. Antony became indignant at the perfidy 
of the queen, and sought her life ; but she eluded his purpose, and 
took refuge in a monument she had erected for her safety, and gave 
out that she had killed herself. Upon this news, Antony's fondness 
for the queen returned, and he resolved to follow her example, and 
die a Roman (fool's) death. At the moment he had fallen upon 
his sword, news came that the queen was alive. Weltering in his 
blood, he wished to see her. After being pulled up by ropes where 
Cleopatra was,, he died in her arms, bedewed with her tears, and 
nearly stifled with her caresses. Cleopatra, through fear of being 



296 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

taken at last by Octavins, and suspecting his intention of wounding 
her pride by putting her among his captives, and leading her thus 
in triumph to Rome, procured an asp, in a basket of fruit ; applying 
it to her bosom, the bite threw her into a fatal lethargy, and Cleo- 
patra was no more. Thus passed the Ptolemies away. 



I. — AGE PATRIARCHAL. 

GREECE— FROM ITS EAREY SETTEERS, TO ITS SUBJUGATION 
BY THE ROMANS. 

PERIOD I. IE01I ABOUT 1908 A. BL, AND 2096 B. C, TO THE TROJAN WAR, 2820 

A. 1L, 1181 B. C. 

The size of this renowned country is about half that of the State 
of Xew York. Small as is its geographical importance, yet, in its 
relations to taste and philosophy, it fills a space much larger than 
any of the mighty empires of antiquity. 

For renown in genius, learning, and arts, the Greeks are excelled 
by none, and, in many respects, they have been the teachers of all 
succeeding ages. In religion they were idolaters ; in government 
they were decidedly inclined to republicanism. 

Pioxeees. — Its first people were descendants of Japheth. For 
a long time they remained rude savages, living in caves, eating fruits 
and nuts, and wearing skins of beasts for clothing. 

Inachus. — He is supposed to have been a Phoenician. He came 
into Greece in 2148 A. M., 1856 B. C, and founded the city of 
Argos. 

The fables of this early period are many, and most of them un- 
important. But Uranus, afterwards worshipped as the heavens, is 
said to have had a large family, called Titans. They dethroned 
their father. Saturn, who took his father's place, fearing lest his 
children might do the same, caused them to be put to death as soon 
as born. Jupiter, when his mother saw he was a " proper child," 
hid him, and sent him to Crete, where he was educated. (Xot very 
unlike the story of Moses.) Jupiter, after dethroning Saturn, began 
to reign in Thessaly. After expelling the Titans, he divided his realm 
with his brothers, Pluto and [Neptune. His own part he governed 
with great wisdom ; having his palace, and holding his courts, on 
Mount Olympus, which the poets call heaven, and where Jupiter 
was worshipped as a god. A very good clue to this fable is the 
account of Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 297 

Lacedemon, or Sparta. — This state, founded by Lelex, and 
Messina, were the only two founded by native Greeks. Each vil- 
lage had its petty tyrant, king, or chief, and for a long time every- 
thing depended upon the wills of those chiefs, as they had no laws. 
The oracles of Apollo and Jupiter were consulted in difficult cases, 
but could be construed to fit the case, turn as it would. "Why 
might not this custom of consulting oracles have originated in the 
patriarchs asking council of the Lord, or even from Moses ? 

Athens. — Cecrops founded this famous city, and first gave it 
the name of Cecropia, 2448 A. M., 1556 B. C. 

He, and the colony with him, built twelve cities, Athens being 
one of them. Cecrops gave them laws, divided them into twelve 
tribes, and instituted marriage among them. He raised the first 
altar in Greece, and that to Jupiter. The third king of Athens 
was Amphictyon, the author of the celebrated Amphictyonic Council. 
This grew to be a congress, composed of two representatives from 
each of the twelve states. Its object was to settle differences be- 
tween states, and punish violations of the laws of nations. Its ver- 
nal session was at Delphi ; the autumnal, at Thermopylae. 

Ericthonius taught the Greeks agriculture, and was raised to the 
throne for this eminent service, instead of Amphictyon. 

Thebes. — This city was founded by Cadmus, a Phoenician. He 
introduced letters into Greece; he thus laid the foundation of the 
literary distinction of the Greeks. 

Theseus. — This man laid the principal foundation of Athenian 
greatness. He formed the twelve cities of Attica into a confeder- 
acy, making the first republic. Yet Grecian fickleness banished 
even Theseus. 



II. — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

Argonauts. — The " Argonautic Expedition" is called the first 
great enterprise of the Greeks, 1263 B. C. Jason was the leader. 
It is supposed to have been either a mercantile, military, or piratical 
expedition. In it were some of the most illustrious young men of 
Greece. Among them were Hercules, Theseus, Castor and Pollux, 
Orpheus, iEsculapius the physician, and Chiron the astronomer. 
These, with the rest, made fifty-four renowned captains in the com- 
pany. They were called Argonauts, from the ship Arc/o, in which. 

38 



298 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

they sailed — being the first sea-vessel ever built. Their destina- 
tion was Colchis, on the shore of the Euxine Sea, in Asia Minor. 

The object of the cruise, by Jason, was to avenge the death of 
his kinsman Phryxus, and to recover his treasures, which had been 
carried off by the King of Colchis. Hence the representation in 
fiction, that the object was to recover the golden fleece of a ram, 
which originally belonged to Greece. It was guarded by bulls 
that breathed fire, and by a dragon that never slept. 

On their voyage, they attempted to land, for refreshments, near 
Troy, but were prevented by Laomedon, king of that city, for which 
they took ample revenge, on their return, by pillaging the place. 

On their arrival in Colchis, Medea, the daughter of the king, fell 
in love with Jason, and, through her assistance, the Argonauts suc- 
ceeded in obtaining the " golden fleece? Upon their return to 
Greece, Hercules instituted the Olympic Games. 

Trojan War. — This celebrated war was caused by Helen, 
daughter of Tyndarus, King of Sparta. She was reputed the most 
beautiful woman of her age, and, as a consequence, her hand was 
solicited in marriage by the most illustrious princes of Greece. Her 
father, to settle the claims of her many suitors, proposed to the 
princes that they should abide her choice, and the rest take oath 
that, should she be stolen from her husband, they would assist, with 
their utmost strength, to recover her. Menelaus was the favored 
choice of Helen, and, after the nuptials, Tyndarus resigned the 
crown to his son-in-law. 

Troy, the capital of Phrygia Minor, was founded 1546 B. C, by 
Scamander, who colonized it from Crete. Troas, the fifth king 
from him, enlarged the city, and named it Troy, after himself. Paris, 
son of Priam, King of Troy, being promised by Venus the most 
beautiful woman of the age for his wife, paid a visit to Greece. 
Being a Trojan prince, he took the liberty to visit Menelaus, King 
of Sparta, and was received by him with every mark of respect. 

Shortly after, and on a sudden, the prince and the queen were 
missing, together with a considerable treasure. An " elopement in 
high life" had taken place. They fled to Troy. Though Helen 
had eloped, instead of being stolen, yet the Grecian princes were all 
astir for her recovery by force. A confederacy was immediately 
formed, and Agamemnon, King of Argos, and brother of Menelaus, 
was appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition. A fleet of 
twelve hundred open vessels conveyed one hundred thousand Gre- 
cian warriors to the Trojan coast. 

The Trojans were commanded by Hector, son of Priam, assisted 
by Paris (his brother) and others. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 299 

The Greeks, on landing, found nearly all Asia Minor leagued with 
Priam, and they spent the first nine years in subduing his allies ; 
then the siege of Troy began, and heroic deeds on both sides were 
performed. 

Achilles became the hero of the Greeks. He slew Hector, tied 
him to his chariot, and dragged him around Troy. Achilles fell by 
the hand of Paris himself; and he was after shot by an arrow. The 
Greeks at last gained possession of the city, by the stratagem of a 
large wooden horse, filled with soldiers, which the Trojans found 
left by the Greeks, purposely, not suspecting its contents. When 
within the city, they burst forth, and turned the victory in favor of 
the Greeks. The city was utterly destroyed, so that no vestige of 
it remains. Priam was slain, and his family led into captivity. 
Such was the Trojan war. 

Codrtts. — He was the last Athenian king. With the close of 
his reign, royalty was abolished at Athens, 1069 B. C. 

Upon going into battle with the Heraclidae, Codrus was told by 
the oracle that the army would be victorious whose chief should 
perish. Devoted to his country's good, he, with a brave and chosen 
few, threw himself into the midst of the hottest of the fight, but 
conquered when he fell. His two sons fell into a dispute about the 
succession, when the Athenians took the matter up, and settled it 
for them, by abolishing royalty, yet putting Medon, one of the sons, 
at the head of the state, with the title of Archon. 

For three centuries this office was held for life ; then for ten years ; 
finally, for one. 



PERIOD II. PROM THE TROJAN WAR, 2820 A. ¥., AND 1184 B. C, TO THE FIRST 
PERSIAN INVASION, 3513 A. 11., AND 491 B. C. 

Heeaclidje. — The next principal event was the "return of the 
Heraclidaa," about eighty years after the destruction of Troy. 

Hercules, King of Mycenae, a city of Peloponnesus, was driven 
from his dominion, with his family, by the usurper Atreus, son of 
Pelops. After a century, the descendants of Hercules returned to 
Peloponnesus, conquered the country, and retook it from the usurp- 
ers. This revolution disturbed the affairs of the country, changed 
the government, caused new divisions among the people, and 
checked the progress of the arts and civilization. A long period of 
civil war followed, when Greece became, through the rivalry of 
petty tyrants, a prey to oppression and anarchy. 



800 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Homer. — This renowned poet of antiquity flourished about 900 
B. C. He was a poor blind man, and used to travel from julace to 
place, singing his verses ; but his genius was transcendent. 

Homer is styled " the father of poetry," and is generally admitted 
to be the most ancient of all profane classical writers. The place 
of his birth is unknown, though several cities claim the honor ; for 

" Seven cities of Greece boast of Homer dead, 
Through which living Homer begged his bread. 

His greatest poems are the Iliad, and Odyssey. 

Their first appearance in Greece was about two hundred years 
after the supposed time of the bard. Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, 
was the first who arranged the Iliad and Odyssey in the form in 
which they now appear to us. Greece owes much of its greatness 
and refinement to the influence of Horner's poems. 

Lyctjrgus. — The two leading states of Greece were Athens and 
Sparta. After the return of the Heraclidse, the government of 
Sparta was divided between the two twin sons of Aristodemus, 
whence arose a double monarchy, that continued about eight hun- 
dred and eighty years. Polydectes and Lycurgus were sons of one 
line of these kings. 

His brother dying, left Lycurgus successor to the crown; but his 
sister-in-law being with child, he resigned it to the heir prospective. 

She, however, intimated to Lycurgus, that if he would marry her, 
the child should be destroyed as soon as born. In order to save the 
child, he proposed to her to send it to him, and he would take care 
of it (as though he seconded her plot). But, on a time when 
Lycurgus was at supper with a company of nobles, the royal infant 
was brought in. He took it, and held it up before them, saying, 
" Spartans, behold your king ! " The child was named Charilaus. 
The queen, being disappointed, was also disaffected ; and, in order 
to have revenge upon Lycurgus, circulated calumnies about him, 
when he resolved upon voluntary exile. In his travels, he made it 
his object to acquire knowledge, especially in reference to the best 
means of government. During this journey, he found the poems 
of Homer, which he carefully preserved. 

He was recalled to Sparta, 886 B. C, and on his return, brought 
the poems of Homer with him. Their effect on the national spirit 
and literature of the Greeks, was highly propitious. Finding the 
state of political affairs very bad, he was earnestly solicited to set 
about a reform. This he did, by first instituting a senate of thirty 
members, to make and execute the laws. The two kings were ex- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 301 

officio members of it, and acted as presidents of the senate, gen- 
erals of the army, and high priests of the nation. He also divided 
the territory of the republic into thirty-nine thousand equal shares, 
among all the free citizens. He extended this division even to fur- 
niture and clothes ; abolished commerce ; distinction in dress ; sub- 
stituted iron money for gold and silver. All the citizens, with the 
kings, were required to eat at the public tables, black broth being 
the principal article of food. Some opposition arose at so many 
extreme measures, but soon ceased. 

Every citizen was wholly devoted to the service of thie state, 
whether in time of peace or war. Deformed infants were exposed 
to perish, and the well-formed delivered to the care of public 
nurses; at seven years of age, they were introduced into the pub- 
lic schools, and all educated on the same plan. Letters were taught 
for use, and not for ornament, and hence arose the term "laconic 
speech." The Spartans were not eminent as scholars ; no book has 
ever reached us written by a genuine Spartan. The young were 
taught respect for the aged, ardent love of country, a high princi- 
ple of honor, and keen sensibility to honor or shame, and inured to 
hardship. The institutions of Lycurgus were adapted only to make 
a nation of soldiers. To be terrible to their enemies was their 
highest ambition. The softer virtues, and domestic affections, were 
sacrificed to the heroic virtues; while such as patriotism, public 
spirit, courage, fortitude, contempt of danger, suffering, and death, 
were cherished. Even theft was encouraged, if it could be done 
without detection. A boy was brought into court for stealing a 
fox ; he denied the theft, though holding the fox under his cloak at 
the same time, and the animal gnawing at his vitals, until he fell 
down dead. He died a true Spartan. 

The manners of the Spartan women were loose and indelicate. 
They were taught the more masculine traits, to the neglect of mod- 
esty, tenderness, and sensibility. They were fond of military glory. 
Mothers exulted when their sons fell honorably in battle. In bid- 
ding them adieu for war, they used the laconic words: "Return 
with your shield, or on your shield." In examining for their 
wounds, their concern was, whether they were in their backs or 
breasts. 

Sparta and Messenia being adjacent, were often at war, until the 
subjugation of the latter by the former. The first war was 743 B. C. 
There were two other wars after this. 

In one of these wars, the Spartans had bound themselves never 
to return, until they had conquered the Messenians ; but, despairing 
of this, they sent word to the Spartan women to recruit the popu- 



302 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

lation by promiscuous intercourse with the young men who were 
too young to take the oath when the war began. The offspring of 
this singular order were called Partheniae, or Sons of the Virgins. 

The extreme attention given to sterner virtues, and the unpar- 
donable neglect of the moral and social ones, were defects in the 
system of Lycurgus, that eventually caused it to fall into disuse. 
Still, while brother states were torn by internal dissensions, Sparta 
acquired solidity, and caused her power to be felt everywhere. Lycur- 
gus, having established his laws, obtained a pledge of the Spartans 
that they would maintain them during his absence. He then went 
into voluntary exile, not intending to return, and died. His laws, 
however, remained in force, in some degree, for five hundred years. 
Many are the characters far more to be desired than the Spartan. 

Draco. — The first code of laws the Athenians ever possessed, 
was written by Draco. These soon passed out of use, as he pun- 
ished every offence, trifling and malignant, with death. 

Solon, — One of the wisest men of Greece, being raised to the 
archonship, was directed to form a new code of laws. He followed 
neither of the last two law-givers, but undertook to accommodate his 
laws to the condition of the people, instead of raising them up to a 
higher standard. Of his laws he said: "If they are not the best 
possible, they are the best the Athenians are capable of receiving." 
He divided the people into four classes, according to property ; the 
fourth class were the very poor. All the offices of the state were 
confined to the rich ; yet all freemen, of thirty years of age, were 
allowed to vote in the Areopagus, or assembly of the people. 

In this assembly all the laws were enacted, every public measure 
determined, all appointments made, and to it an appeal lay from all 
courts of justice. In the public addresses before this court, was the 
place where the talents of the orators of Athens were drawn out, 
and their fame acquired, — " where Pericles thundered, iEschines 
charmed, and Demosthenes ruled the hearts of men." 

Solon also instituted a senate of four hundred (after increased to 
six hundred), in which public measures were first discussed, before 
being proposed to the Areopagus. So between the Senate and 
Areopagus, he sought to balance the popular interest. Commerce 
and agriculture were encouraged ; industry and economy en- 
forced; disobedience to parents, and opprobrious language were 
punished ; and the father who neglected to teach his son a trade, 
could have no claim upon him for support in old age. 

Solon once witnessed Thespis act various characters in plays, 
and asked him if he was not ashamed to speak so many lies. Thes- 
pis replied: "It was all in jest." Solon, striking his staff on the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 303 

ground violently, said : " If we encourage ourselves to speak falsely 
in jest, we shall run the chance of acquiring a habit of speaking 
falsely in serious matters." 

The different law-givers of Athens and Sparta wrought in the 
people as different characters. At Athens, peace and refinement 
were the taste of the people ; at Sparta, war, military and athletic 
display. Athenians were luxurious, Spartans frugal; Athenian vir- 
tues were agreeable, Spartan severe. They were both, however, 
equally jealous of liberty, and brave in war a 

Pisistratus. — About 560 B. C., Pisistratus, a rich, eloquent, and 
ambitious citizen, so operated upon the popular mind, in various 
ways, as to raise himself to the supreme power of the nation, in 
spite of Solon. He and his sons retained the rule for about fifty 
years. 

Pisistratus exercised a munificent and splendid reign, and is said 
to have founded the first public library known to the world. It 
was he who first collected the poems of Homer into one volume. 
He left the government to his two sons, Hippias, and Hipparchus. 
They, after a time, abused their power, and were overthrown by 
Harmodius and Aristogiton, and democracy was again restored. 
Hipparchus was slain; Hippias fled to Darius, King of Persia, who 
was then meditating an attack upon Greece. Hippias seconded the 
designs of Darius, and was afterwards killed in the battle of Mara- 
thon, fighting against his countrymen. 

Sappho. — She was a Greek poetess, author of the Sapphic 
verse, so called. Flourished about 600 B. C. 

She was born in the island of Lesbos. Talent and beauty were 
hers. She fell in love with Phaon, a youth of Mytilene ; but, 
being disappointed, she threw herself into the sea, from Mount 
Lucas. 

^Esop, — The Father of Fables, flourished about 580 B. C. He 
was originally a slave, and had several masters, but procured his 
liberty by the charms of his genius. He was enfranchised by an 
Athenian philosopher. He travelled considerably, but resided much 
at the court of Croesus, King of Lydia, by whom he was sent to 
consult the oracle at Delphi. His sarcasms upon the Delphians so 
offended them, that they accused him of some act of sacrilege, and 
threw him clown from a rock. 



3C4 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 



PERIOD III. PROU THE FIRST PERSIAN INVASION, 3513 A. II., AND 491 B. C, 
TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 3668 A. II., AND 336 B. C. 

Miltiades. — Darius, King of Persia, was now meditating the 
invasion of Greece. His subjects in Asia Minor had made an 
attempt to rid themselves of his control, and were assisted by the 
Greeks ; but Darius succeeded in quelling the disturbance there in 
a short time ; and then for revenge upon Greece. 

Darius sent heralds into Greece, demanding earth and water ; the 
indignant Greeks threw some of them into wells, telling them there 
" to take earth and water." Thebes, and some of the other Grecian 
states submitted, but Athens and Sparta resisted. 

The first Persian army was destroyed by a storm, in passing 
around the promontory of Athos, and three hundred vessels lost. 
Another soon followed, in six hundred vessels, with five hundred 
thousand men. This army ravaged the Grecian islands, whilst 
another entered Attica by land, consisting of one hundred and ten 
thousand men. The Grecian generals were entrusted with the 
co.mmand, but the rest agreed that Miltiades should be chief. The 
two armies met on a narrow plain by the sea side, at the town of 
Marathon. Here, with a good position, and a better arrangement 
of his troops, Miltiades met the Persian host, and, after a terrible 
battle, drove the routed invaders to their ships, with a loss of six 
thousand three hundred, while the Greeks lost only one hundred 
and ninety-two. 

The glittering honors Miltiades won at this battle, stirred up the 
jealousy of his rivals to seek his ruin. Failing in an attack upon 
the island of Paros, not long after, this was seized upon as a ground 
of accusation against him for treason, which failed of proof; still 
he was sentenced to pay a fine of fifty thousand dollars. He was 
thrown into prison, where he died in a few days of his wounds, 
received at Paros. His son Cimon paid the fine. 

. Such was Grecian gratitude (?) to Grecian heroes. 

Leoxidas. — The death of Darius postponed the war of Persia 
for several years ; when Xerxes, ascending the throne, was eager to 
conquer Greece. He spent four years in collecting an army, — the 
greatest the world ever saw. The army and fleet consisted of two 
millions fighting men ; including the retinue, the whole multitude 
exceeded five millions ! The fleet consisted of twelve hundred gal- 
leys of war ; and, for the conveyance of the army, two bridges of 
boats were made across the Hellespont. Xerxes, upon a review of 
his vast army is said to have wept at the thought, that all would be 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 305 

still in death in one hundred years. His army was then put in 
motion towards Athens. 

Leonidas, King of Sparta, undertook the defence of the cele- 
brated pass of Thermopylae, a narrow defile in the mountain, on the 
coast between Thessaly and Phocis. With his six thousand brave 
soldiers, Leonidas awaited the approach of the Persian hosts. A 
Persian herald was dispatched first to bribe him ; failing of this, he 
demanded his arms, in the name of Xerxes. The Spartan replied, 
in a short, laconic speech: "Let him come and take them." The 
bravest of the Persian troops were repeatedly sent against the 
Spartans, but as often driven back in disgrace. For two days they 
held the Persians at bay ; but a wretch at last informed them of a 
secret path over the mountain. This they entered, and in the 
morning began to pour down upon the Greeks like a torrent. 

Leonidas saw he was betrayed ; but, as the laws of Sparta forbade 
its soldiers, in any case whatever, to flee from an enemy, he, with 
three hundred Spartans, resolved to abide their fate, and were all 
cut oif. 

A monument was erected on the spot, with an inscription by 
Simonides : " O, stranger! tell it at Lacedaemon that we died here in 
obedience to her laws." 

Themistocles. — The Persians, having forced the pass of Ther- 
mopylae, poured down upon Attica. Finding Athens deserted, they 
pillaged the city and burnt it. 

The Greeks, having removed their women and children to the 
islands for safety, had fled to their ships. A great naval battle was 
now approaching. 

The Persian fleet consisted of twelve hundred galleys, that of 
the Greeks of three hundred, commanded by Themistocles and 
Aristides. The engagement took place in the Straits of Salamis, 
where the Persians could bring but few of their vast fleet into 
action, and were defeated with immense loss. 

Xerxes, who had seated himself upon an eminence in the firm 
expectation of victory, alarmed at the loss of this battle, fled for 
his own dominions. The hero of this great naval battle, with all 
his honors, was not thereby shielded from the spleen of his country- 
men. He was suspected of participating in the treason of Pausa- 
nias, who, like Hippias, proposed to betray the government of Greece 
into the hands of Persia, provided he could be made governor 
thereof, under Persia. Under this suspicion, he was banished by 
the ostracism. 

Proceeding to Asia, he wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes, say- 
ing : " I Themistocles come to thee, who have done thy house most 

39 



306 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ill of all the Greeks, while I was of necessity repelling the invasion 
of thy father; but yet more good, when I was in safety, and his 
return was endangered." He was permitted to live in Persia, in great 
splendor. Ambition, however, was his god. On being asked the 
occasion of his dejection, after the battle of Marathon, he said, 
the trophies of Miltiades would not let him sleep. 

On one occasion, when he was high in power, he laughingly said 
his son was " greater than any man in Greece." — " How is that ? " 
said a friend. He replied : " The Athenians govern Greece ; I com- 
mand the Athenians ; his mother commands me, and this boy com- 
mands his mother." 

Cimon. — Upon the flight of Xerxes, he left his general, Mardo- 
nius, with three hundred thousand Persian soldiers, to complete the 
subjugation of Greece. 

In the following year, the combined forces of Athens and Sparta, 
under command of Aristides and Pausanias, met the Persians, with 
only one hundred and ten thousand men, at Platasa, and defeated 
them, with tremendous slaughter. Mardonius was killed, and nearly 
all his troops. On the same day, a naval battle was fought at Mycale, 
near Ephesus, under Leotychides the Spartan, and Xanthippus the 
Athenian, when the remainder of the Persian fleet was destroyed. 
Thus the " mad schemes " of Xerxes were frustrated. 

Affairs now took a " turn about." The Greeks assisted the Asi- 
atic Greeks to throw off the Persian yoke, when Cimon (son of 
Miltiades), assisted by Pausanias and Aristides, took the island of 
Cyprus from Persia, and set it free ; then took the city of Byzan- 
tium, plundered it, and returned with immense booty. After the 
banishment of Themistocles, and the death of Aristides, Cimon was 
left with the sole direction of public affairs. He maintained the 
political influence and military power of Athens, and was very suc- 
cessful in repelling the Persians, — gaining two victories over them 
in one day, near the mouth of the Eurymedon, in Asia Minor. 

A party at length arose, with Pericles for their leader, and pro- 
cured the banishment of Cimon by the ostracism. He was, how- 
ever, recalled after five years, and invested again with the command 
of the army. He was again victorious over the Persians, but died, 
finally, of a wound received at Citium, in Cyprus. The Persian 
war was now closed. 

During the war with the Persians, the Athenians, under their 
celebrated generals, Miltiades, Themistocles, Aristides, and Cimon, 
rose to the summit of their military renown, and even attained the 
supremacy in Greece, which Sparta had hitherto enjoyed. This 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 807 

last circumstance gave rise to the Peloponnesian war, or the war 
between Athens and Sparta. 

Pericles. — After the death of Cimon, his brother-in-law, Thu- 
cydides, became the competitor of Pericles for popular favor. A 
war of eloquence ensued, which ended in the banishment of Thu- 
cydides by the ostracism, when Pericles came into power, and held 
it, almost undisputed, for twenty years. He governed Athens with 
arbitrary sway, yet adorned it with masterpieces of architecture, 
sculpture, and painting ; patronized the arts and sciences ; celebrated 
splendid games and festivals, making his administration one of great 
splendor and magnificence. But he exhausted the public revenue, 
and corrupted the manners of the people. 

A complaint being made by some, that he was spending too much 
of the public money in beautifying the city, he one day asked, in a 
public assembly, " If any thought so ? " The people said, " Yes." 
Pericles answered : " Then place the expense to my charge, instead 
of yours ; only let the new buildings be marked with my name, in- 
stead of yours. To this they replied : " Let him use as much of the 
public treasures as he pleases." Athens was at this time in the 
height of her glory, both in military renown, and of cultivation and 
refinement. 

After the close of the Persian war, the union that had existed be- 
tween the Grecian states while repelling their outward foes, gave 
way to the old jealousies and ambitious views of the rival states — 
Sparta feeling specially mortified at the renown and supremacy of 
Athens, gained in the Persian war. 

The Peloponnesian war, so called, was precipitated upon the coun- 
try of Greece, as follows : In a treaty between Athens and Sparta, 
Corinth was ceded to the latter. The Corinthians waged a war upon 
the people of Corcyra, whereupon both parties solicited the aid of 
Athens. The Athenians aided the people of Corcyra, which act the 
Corinthians interpreted as a violation of the "treaty," and made 
it the pretext of war, which the Spartans were eager to commence ; 
and an appeal to arms soon involved all the states of the Pelopon- 
nesus in a terrible " civil war." In the third year of this war, when 
his eminent services were most needed, Pericles was swept off, with 
others, by a terrible plague. 

On his death-bed, his friends were recounting his wonderful deeds, 
for his consolation, when he replied, that what most consoled him 
was, that none of his fellow-citizens had been obliged, by any act of 
his, to put on a mourning robe. 

Lysandee. — After the death of Pericles, Cleon and Alcibiades 
held very poorly the reins of the Athenian government. But the 



308 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Athenian fleet being utterly defeated at Mgos Potamos, on the Hel- 
lespont, by Lysander, the ablest of the Spartan generals, Athens was 
reduced to the last extremity. The Spartans blockaded the city by 
sea and land, and its reduction was left to the sure operation of 
famine. 

The Athenians, forseeing their fate, chose to surrender on almost 
any conditions. Those they were compelled to accept, were, to 
demolish their port, with all their fortifications, limit their fleet to 
twelve ships, and in future to undertake no military enterprise, ex- 
cept under the command of the Lacedaemonians (Spartans). Thus 
the Peloponnesian war ended with submission of Athens to Sparta. 

After the reduction of Athens, Lysander abolished the popular 
government, and substituted an oligarchy, consisting of thirty Spar- 
tan captains, whose power w T as absolute, and, from their atrocious 
cruelty, were styled the Thirty Tyrants, They were rejected by 
the people, and the democratic form of government restored (in 
three years), 403 B. C. To Lysander is charged the first breach in 
his country's constitution, by the introduction of gold coin into that 
republic, which had been studiously kept out for nearly five hundred 
years, or since the time of Lycurgus. 

Soceates. — About this age of Greece, appeared a class of emi- 
nent men, — their memory at once the boast, and, in some instances, 
the reproach of the nation. Among those who received evil at the 
hands of their countrymen, none is more prominent, or excites more 
sympathy, than Socrates. 

He was a native of Athens, and followed the employment of his 
father, which was that of statuary, for some time. The statues of 
" The Graces," are said to have been the work of his own hands. 
Called from this honorable employment by a friend, philosophy soon 
became his study. He served his country with boldness and intre- 
pidity in the field of battle. But his character is more to be admired 
as a philosopher and moralist, than as a warrior. 

He attended but little to physical science, but introduced moral 
philosophy, by teaching mankind to govern their passions, and to 
consider their actions and their duties. From this circumstance, it 
was said of him, that he drew down philosophy from heaven to 
earth. His investigations led to a knowledge of the Deity, the Cre- 
ator of the universe, and to the belief of a future state of rewards 
and punishments. He directed the powers of his mind against the 
atheists, materialists, and skeptics of his own and former times, turn- 
ing their metaphysical speculations into ridicule. 

This provoked the subjects of his sarcasm to seek revenge ; and 
while they could not stand before him in the field, meanly accused 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE, 309 

him of making innovations in the religion of the Greeks, ridiculing 
the gods whom the Athenians worshipped, and corrupting the Athe- 
nian youth. Through such means his enemies procured his condem- 
nation, by the Assembly of Athens, to death by poison. 

Upon this, he was thrown into prison for thirty days. During this 
time, he conducted himself with the greatest dignity, refusing to 
escape when he might, conversed freely with his friends upon topics 
of moral philosophy, particularly the immortality of the soul. One 
of his disciples lamenting before him that he was to die innocent, 
" Would you have me die guilty ? " replied Socrates, with a smile. 

The fatal potion was a liquor resembling the juice of hemlock, 
which was to cause death by its coldness. When the hour arrived, 
the philosopher drank the fatal cup, and, with composure, kept up 
his conversation till the last moment of his life. When too late, the 
Athenians were made aware of the mistake to themselves, and the 
gross injustice done this sage, in his wanton destruction. His in- 
structions were wholly given in conversation, not in writing. He 
was attended by a number of illustrious pupils, among whom were 
Plato and Xenophon, and to them are we indebted for a knowledge 
of the doctrines, character, and fate of Socrates. 

The philosophy of Socrates formed an important epoch in the 
history of the human mind; and from him arose, soon after, the 
Platonic, Stoic, and Peripatetic schools of philosophy, besides some 
others. 

Herodotus. — He is styled the "Father of History," and holds 
the same rank among historians that Homer does among poets. 
His history describes the wars of the Greeks against the Persians. 
This he publicly repeated, at the Olympic Games, when the names 
of the Muses were given to his nine books. He lived about 450 
before Christ. 

Pixdar — The chief of the Grecian lyric poets. His composi- 
tions were extremely popular with statesmen and princes, and his 
hymns were repeated in the temples, and at the celebration of festi- 
vals. Horace calls him "inimitable." His statue was erected at 
Thebes, and viewed with pleasure by Pausanias, the geographer, six 
centuries after. 

Phidias. — He was an Athenian. His statue of Jupiter Olympus 
passed for one of the wonders of the world. That of Minerva, in. 
the Pantheon at Athens, was thirty-nine feet in height, and was 
made of gold and ivory. He died 432 B. C. 

Euripides. — An eminent tragic poet of Greece. 

It is said he used to shut himself up in a gloomy cave near Sala- 
mis, where he composed some of his best tragedies. Upon hearing 



310 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

some of his audience object to certain lines of a piece he was repre- 
senting, he stepped forward and told them he came there to instruct 
them, not to receive instruction. As a poet, he was very apt in 
expressing the passions of love ; and common expressions have 
received a perfect polish from his pen. His works abound in moral 
reflections and philosophical aphorisms. 

Euripides was such an enemy to the fair sex as to have merited 
the appellation of " woman-hater ; " yet he married twice, but was 
so unhappy, as to divorce both his wives. The ridicule and envy to 
which he was exposed in Athens, caused him to retire to the court 
of Archelaus, King of Macedon, where he was entertained with 
great munificence. But the tragic writer came to a tragic end. 
While out in one of his solitary walks, the hounds of the king 
attacked him, and tore him in pieces. 

Sophocles. — He was born 497 B. C, and was a rival and com- 
petitor of Euripides. He was distinguished as a poet, statesman, 
and general, and filled the office of Auction with applause. He 
died at the age of ninety-one, through excess of joy at having 
obtained a poetical prize at the Olympic Games. 

Thucydides — Wrote a history of the Peloponnesian war. Ex- 
tremely well written. 

Hippocrates — Was an eminent physician. Died at ninety- 
nine years of age, 

Xexophon. — Upon the death of Darius, his son, Artaxerxes II., 
came to the Persian throne. Cyrus, his brother, undertook to de- 
throne him, and for the purpose employed over ten thousand mer- 
cenary Greeks, under the command of Clearchus. 

Cyrus and Clearchus both being slain, the Greeks made a retreat 
of sixteen hundred miles, through the enemy's country, and with 
difficulty reached the Euxine. Choosing Xenophon for their leader, 
he has the honor of conducting what is known as the "Retreat of 
the Ten Thousand." 

Xenophon has written a very interesting account of this retreat. 
He also wrote a life of Cyrus the Great, collected the Memorabilia 
of Socrates, and continued the history of Thucydides. The simpli- 
city and elegance of Xenophon's style, have won him the name of 
the Athenian Muse, and the Bee of Greece. He followed Agesi- 
laus in some of his expeditions, and acquired much wealth. 

Agesilaus. — The Greek cities of Asia having taken part with 
Cyrus, the Spartans, under their king, Agesilaus, undertook their 
defence, and thus became involved in war with the Persians. 

The King of Persia, by bribes, induced Athens, Thebes, Corinth, 
and other cities, to join in a league against them, which compelled 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 311 

Agesilaus to return to the defence of his own country (similar to 
Asa, inducing Benhadad, King of Syria, to attack Baasha in the 
rear, to draw him away from building Ramah). After the Spartans 
had defeated the confederates at "Cornea, then, in turn, the Athe- 
nians, under Conon, defeated the Spartan fleet near Cnidus, and after 
several other turns of the fortunes of " glorious war," all parties 
became weary of it, and a treaty of peace was at last concluded, 
called the Peace of Antalcidas, the Lacedaemonian. 

The conditions of which were, that all the Grecian cities of 
Asia should belong to Persia, and that all others should be com- 
pletely independent, except that the islands of Lemnos, Scyros, 
and Imbros, should belong to Athens. 

Agesilaus acted a prominent part in the war with Thebes. Not 
long after the peace that followed the Theban war, the Spartans, 
under Agesilaus, went into Egypt to assist Tachos, king of that 
country, against Nectanebus. 

Receiving some affront from Tachos, he turned against him, and 
raised Nectanebus to the throne. Having set sail for Sparta, he 
died on the coast of Egypt, leaving a high reputation as a states- 
man and warrior. 

Thus, after the formation of the twelve cities of Attica into the first 
Republic, by Theseus, and having gone through all the forms of 
tyrannical, anarchical, aristocratic, democratic, united and divided 
government, the Greeks settled down upon the platform of six 
hundred years before! 

Retrograde movement truly, when we reckon on so long an expe- 
rience, and so many renowned law-givers, statesmen, and warriors, 
as lived and flourished during this period, in Greece itself. 

Epamustondas. — Sparta, after enjoying for a long time the honor 
of being the leading state in Greece, was forced to see Thebes fast 
rising to be not only a rival, but a conquering state. The Spartans, 
jealous of her rising greatness, took advantage of some internal dis- 
sensions, and seized upon her citadel. This they held four years, 
when a party of Thebans, headed by Pelopidas, putting on women's 
clothes to hide their armor, entered a feast given them by the Spar- 
tans, and cut their principal officers to pieces. 

Archias, the chief Spartan, had a letter put into his hands that 
very day, giving information of the plot, but he laid it aside, say- 
ing, " Business to-morrow." He was the first man killed, and the 
Spartans were routed, and war ensued. The two armies met, and 
fought the battle of Leuctra. In this battle the Thebans lost three 
hundred, and the Spartans four thousand, together with their king, 
Cleombrotus. 



312 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

This was the most mortifying defeat the Spartans had suffered 
for ages, sustaining poorly the renown of Marathon and Ther- 
mopylae The victorious Thebans, headed by Epaminondas, en- 
tered the territories of Lacedaemon, and overran them with fire 
and sword, to the very suburbs of the capital. This had not hap- 
pened to Sparta for six hundred years; and the boast of the inhab- 
itants, that " the Spartan women had never seen the smoke of an 
enemy's camp," was now taken away. 

The Theban general, having completely humbled the power of 
Sparta, returned to Thebes with his victorious army. But not long 
after, the war being renewed, Epaminondas met the Spartans, under 
Agesilaus, at the battle of Mantinea, and gained another great vic- 
tory over them. He fell, pierced with a javelin, in the moment of 
victory; and, though in extreme agony from his wound, was anxi- 
ous how the battle went. When informed that the Thebans con- 
quer, he exclaimed : " Then all is well." 

With Epaminondas Thebes rose, with him she fell. See the 
same of Charlemagne, and his Xew Western Empire. 

Philip. — While Sparta, Athens, and Thebes, were declining, 
through internal discord, Macedon, in the north, was rising ; thus 
bringing a new and fourth state of Greece into the struggle for 
power and supremacy. Macedon had been a separate state for 
four hundred years, but acquired no distinction until its throne was 
occupied by Philip. 

Macedon had hitherto formed no portion of the Greek Confed- 
eracy, and had no part in the Amphictyonic Council. Its inhabi- 
tants claimed a similar origin with the Greeks, but were considered 
by them as barbarians. Philip, when only ten years of age, was 
sent to Thebes as a hostage, and there enjoyed the advantage of 
an excellent Grecian education, under Epaminondas. At the age 
of twenty-four, he ascended the throne. Being possessed of 
great military and political talent, he meditated the conquest of 
all the Grecian states. 

In order to secure his main design, he first subdued his imme- 
diate neighbors, the Thessalians, Paeonians, and Illyrians. On his 
return from one of those expeditions, in which he had been suc- 
cessful, a messenger soon after arrived with the news of his gene- 
ral Parmenio's success ; another came with the news that his horses 
had won at the Olympic Games ; and yet a third came, and informed 
him that his wife Olympias had brought forth a son at Pella. All 
these being taken as a bad omen, Philip exclaimed : " Great Jupiter ! 
in return for so many blessings, send me a slight misfortune ! " 
Another device of his to gain all Greece, was the employment of 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 313 

pensionaries in all the states, to excite dissensions among them, 
with a view of having every public measure directed to his advan- 
tage. Finally a pretext for war arose, such as Philip wished to see. 

The Phocians had long cultivated the Chirrhaean plain, which, it 
was now claimed, had been in a former age consecrated to the Del- 
phian Apollo ; and the Amphyctionic Council had forbidden its fur- 
ther use by the Phocians, under penalty of a heavy fine. The Pho- 
cians treated the order of the council with contempt, which brought 
on the sacred ivar, and this involved nearly all the Grecian states in 
the contest for ten years. Philip, having attained some renown, 
proposed to use his influence in carrying out the wishes of the 
council in compelling the Phocians to submit to its decree. In 
order to make the most of the case, he proposed to have the 
Phocians ejected from the council, and the State of Macedon, 
which had never had a seat in the council, fill the vacancy. This 
being done, he was also styled the Amphictyonic General, which 
was all he could ask. 

The Athenians, suspicious of his designs, refused to acknowledge 
the election ; and, after having their jealousies excited to the ut- 
most by the thundering " Philippics " of Demosthenes, they were 
2)lunged into an unavailing war with their powerful and victorious 
rival and neighbor. A second sacred war drew Philip again into 
Greece. The Locrians trespassed on the sacred ground of Delphi, 
and, refusing to obey the order of the council, Philip was called 
upon to vindicate their authority by force of arms. 

The Athenians and Thebans, roused to the utmost enthusiasm by 
the eloquence of Demosthenes, united to resist the growing power 
of Philip ; but in vain. The two armies met at Chaeronea (the battle- 
ground of Agesilaus), and, after a most obstinate fight, Philip gained 
a decisive victory, which gave him the entire ascendency in Greece. 

He did not, however, treat the Greeks as a vanquished people, 
but permitted them to retain their separate and independent govern- 
ments, while he controlled all the public measures. 

Philip's next project was the invasion of Persia. He, with all 
Greece, longed for revenge upon that nation, for the repeated efforts 
of her monarchs to subdue the Greeks, although they had failed to 
do it. In order to have complete success, Philip called a council 
of all the states, laid before them his project, which was highly 
j)opular, and he was chosen commander-in-chief of the united forces 
of all the states of Greece. He made formidable preparations for 
the expedition, and being just ready for his departure, was assas- 
sinated by Pausanias, a captain of his guards, from private resent- 
ment, while solemnizing the nuptials of his daughter ! 

40 



314 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

The news of Philip's death was received with tumultuous joy by 
the Athenians, who indulged the vain hope of again recovering 
their liberty. 

Plato. — Among other great men of the time, appeared the emi- 
nent Grecian philosopher, Plato, called by the Greeks, "Divine." 
He was born about 429 B. C. His name, Aristocles, was changed 
to Plato, from the largeness of his shoulders. He was eight years 
the pupil of Socrates, after which he travelled for a time in foreign 
countries. He then retired to the groves of Academus, where he 
was attended by a crowd of illustrious pupils. 

Plato's learning and virtues were topics of conversation in all 
parts of Greece. His manners were elegant, and he partook only 
of innocent pleasures and amusements. 

His works, which were written in dialogue style, were numerous. 
They have been regarded, by ancients and moderns, as possessed of 
unusual depth of thought and merit. Among other things, he taught 
the immortality of the soul. The school of philosophy he founded 
is deserving of the most merit of any of those times. 

Diogexes. ■ — He lived about this time, and is celebrated as the 
clown, or cynic philosopher. He seemed to despise the ordinary 
ways of mankind. 

For example, he is said to have lived in a tub, instead of a house, 
or cave. One day he was seen searching around among a crowd, 
with a lighted candle. On being asked what was the object of his 
search, he replied : " I am looking for an honest man." His oddities 
were many and pertinent. He received a visit from Alexander, 
when he asked Diogenes if he wished any favor of him. He re- 
plied : " Yes ; I want you to stand out of my sunshine, and not take 
from me what you cannot give me." 

Apelles. — He was Greece's most celebrated painter. Alexander 
would suffer no one else to draw his picture. His picture of Venus 
rising out of the sea, was purchased by Augustus, and placed in a 
temple at Rome. 

Aristotle. — He is said to have possessed one of the keenest 
and most inventive and penetrating intellects ever known. His 
writings treat of a great variety of important topics : as Moral and 
Xatural Philosophy, Metaphysics, Mechanics, Grammar, Criticism, 
and Politics. 

His eloquence was remarkable ; moderate in his meals ; slept lit- 
tle, and indefatigably industrious. That he might not over-sleep, 
he always lay with one hand out of bed, holding in it a ball of 
brass, which, by its falling into a basin of the same metal, would 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 315 

awake him. Though educated in the school of Plato, he differed 
from his master, and at length formed a new school. 

He taught in the Lyceum. He is said to have had a deformed 
countenance, but his genius was an ample compensation for this 
defect. As he expired, he is said to have uttered this sentiment: 
" I entered this world in impurity ; I have lived in anxiety ; I depart 
in commotion of spirit. Cause of Causes, pity me ! " He died 
M. 63. 

Dejiosthenes. — His father died when he was only seven years 
of age ; and his guardians, proving unfaithful to their trust, squan- 
dered his estate, and neglected his education. He was then left to 
his own industry and application, for the discipline of his mind. 

Demosthenes was afflicted with weak lungs, difficulty of pronun- 
ciation, and uncouth habits of body ; still, he became the greatest 
orator of the age. 

To cure his stuttering, he used to declaim with his mouth full of 
pebbles. To break himself of hunching up his shoulders, he used 
to stand before a mirror, with a sword suspended, point down, just 
above his shoulder. To get control over himself, and secure pres- 
ence of mind, he would stand by the sea-shore, in a fearful wind, 
and declaim to the waves ; and that he might devote himself the 
more closely to his studies, he confined himself to a retired cave, 
and shaved one half of his head, so that he could not appear de- 
cently in public. 

His abilities as an orator soon placed him at the head of the gov- 
ernment, and in this capacity he animated the Athenians to resist 
Philip. He also resisted Alexander. After Alexander's death, he 
attempted again to arouse the Athenians to throw off the Macedo- 
nian yoke. But, finding that Alexander's troops were approaching 
the city, Demosthenes fled for safety to the temple of Neptune, and 
there took poison, to prevent himself from falling into their hands, 
in his sixtieth year, 322 B. C. 

Euclid. — He was a mathematician of Alexandria, and flourished 
about 300 B. C. 

He distinguished himself by writing on Music and Geometry, but 
particularly, by fifteen books on the Elements of Mathematics, which 
consist of problems and theorems, with demonstrations. His Ele- 
ments have gone through innumerable editions. He was greatly 
respected by antiquity, and his school at Alexandria became the 
most famous in the world for mathematics. 

Zeno. — He was a native of Cyprus. In early life he followed 
commercial pursuits ; but, during a shipwreck, he took up a book to 
read, to divert his mind. It happened to be one written by Xeno- 



316 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

phoD ; and he was so captivated with it, that from that time he 
devoted himself to the study of philosophy. 

Zeno, becoming perfect in all branches of knowledge, opened a 
school at Athens, and delivered his instructions in a porch, in Greek, 
called stoa, from which was derived the name stoic. He taught that 
men should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and sub- 
mit without complaint to the unavoidable necessity by which all 
things are governed. He was austere in manners, but his life was an 
example of moderation and sobriety. He instructed in philosophy 
forty-eight years, and died in his ninety-eighth year, 264 B. C. A 
stranger to indisposition and diseases, virtue was his chief good. 

Archimedes. — He was a native of Syracuse. 

At the siege of Syracuse, under Marcellus, the Roman consul, 
Archimedes constructed machines by which he sunk some of the 
Roman ships ; and others he set on fire by burning-glasses, — sup- 
posed to be reflectors, made of metal, capable of producing this 
effect at the distance of a bow-shot. 

Marcellus, learning of his extraordinary abilities, when the city 
was taken, gave orders to have Archimedes conducted to him in 
safety. So intent was he upon his studies, that he was unconscious 
that the city was taken, until a soldier entered his room, and bade 
him follow him. Archimedes requested him to allow him to finish 
his problem first. The soldier, thirsting more for blood than for sci- 
ence, took the philosopher's request as a refusal to obey his order, 
drew his sword, and killed him on the spot, 208 B. C. 



PERIOD IT. FROM ALEXANDER, 3668 A. M., AND 336 B. C, TO THE SUBJUGATION 
OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS, 3857 A. 31., 147 B. C. 

Alexander — Known also as the Great, was son of Philip, King 
of Macedon. His early education was committed to Aristotle, and 
under him the young prince soon manifested a desire to distinguish 
himself. He read much; Homer's Iliad he especially studied, and 
is said to have slept with it under his pillow in after-life. 

His wonderful feats with the fiery war-horse Bucephalus, which 
no one else could ride, exhibit his early and natural daring. 

This horse was afterwards his special favorite animal. Among 
other marks of distinction shown him, he built a city and named it 
" Bucephala," in honor of his admirable steed. 

He attended his father in battle, and early manifested not only 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 317 

valor, but skill, and once had the happiness of saving his parent's 
life, when in great danger from an enemy. The death of his father 
raised him to the throne, at the early age of twenty years. 

Upon Alexander's coming to the throne, Demosthenes again at- 
tempted to rouse his countrymen to throw off the Macedonian yoke. 
But the young king, having extended his dominions somewhat in the 
north, turned his arms upon Greece. The Athenians submitted, but 
the Thebans resisted him. Their defeat, however, was accompanied 
with great slaughter, the burning of Thebes to the ground, and 
thirty thousand of her inhabitants sold as slaves. These severe 
measures brought a ll the Grecian states into submission to Alexander. 

He then assembled deputies, at Corinth, from all the states, and 
renewed his father's proposed invasion of Persia ; it was approved, 
and he, like his father, was appointed generalissimo. He had for his 
companions in arms, Parmenio, and other distinguished officers, who 
served in the wars of his father. 

With an army of thirty thousand foot, and five thousand horse, 
the sum of seventy talents, and a single month's provisions, he set 
out to have revenge on old Persia, for her repeated (though unsuc- 
cessful) attempts to subdue Greece. After crossing the Hellespont, 
he proceeded to the site of Illium, or Troy, and offered sacrifices to 
the spirits of the heroes who fell in the Trojan war, — particularly to 
Achilles, whom he pronounced the most fortunate of men, in having 
Patroclus for his friend, and Homer for his panegyrist. 

Darius Cadomanus, King of Persia, resolved to crush the " mad 
boy" (as he termed him) at once, and so gave him battle, on the 
banks of the Granicus, with an army of one hundred thousand foot, 
and twenty thousand horse. The Persians were defeated, with a 
loss, according to Plutarch, of twenty-two thousand men, while the 
Macedonians lost only thirty-four. In this battle, Alexander was 
saved from having his head split open with a battle-axe, by Clytns, 
who run the officer through with a spear. This victory was of great 
importance to Alexander, as Sardis, with all its riches, and all Asia 
Minor fell into his hands. 

Early the next spring, 333 B. C., was fought the battle of Issus, 
when the Persian army, numbering six hundred thousand men, was 
defeated, and one hundred and ten thousand killed, while the Mace- 
donians lost only four hundred and fifty. The battle took place in a 
narrow defile, like Thermopylae, — a Grecian stratagem of war. 

The mother, wife, and two daughters of Darius, fell into Alexan- 
der's hands, who treated his royal captives with the greatest delicacy 
and respect. Darius, hearing of the kind treatment of his family, 
sent an embassy to Alexander, offering for their ransom the sum of 



318 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ten thousand talents (about ten millions of dollars), proposing a 
treaty of peace and alliance, with the offer of his daughter in mar- 
riage, and all the country between the Euphrates and the .zEgean 
Sea as her dower. (Fine offer to the " mad boy.") This propo- 
sition being laid before Alexander's council, Parmenio said : " If I 
were Alexander, I would accept the terms." — " And so would I, if 
I were Parmenio," replied Alexander. 

His reply to Darius intimated that he had invaded Asia to avenge 
the unprovoked aggressions of the Persian monarchs ; that if Darius 
would come to him, and ask for his wife and family, he would wil- 
lingly deliver them to him ; but if he proposed to dispute the 
sovereignty, he would find him ready to oppose him. 

Coming to Tyre, he demanded admittance to the temple, to offer 
sacrifice to the Tyrian Hercules. Being denied this, he became 
enraged, and resolved on the destruction of the place. This he 
accomplished in seven months, causing two thousand men to be cru- 
cified; many he put to the sword, and others he sold into slavery. 

He then proceeded to Gaza, which he took, after an obstinate 
resistance; sold ten thousand of its inhabitants into slavery, and tied 
Betis, its brave defender, alive to his chariot wheels, and dragged 
him around the city, in imitation of Achilles dragging Hector around 
Troy. Hector, however, was dead, while Betis was dragged alive. 

Alexander next visited Jerusalem, where he was kindly received, 
and treated the Jews kindly in return. (See page 133.) 

Egypt, which was subject to Persia, readily submitted to his 
authority. He was as vain as he was cruel. Through incredible 
difficulties, he led his army across the Lybian desert, to visit the 
temple of Jupiter Ammon, and was there flattered with the title of 
"Son of Jupiter" While in Egypt, he founded the city of Alexan- 
dria. Returning from Egypt, he again received liberal proposals 
from Darius; but these he haughtily rejected, telling him, "the 
world could no more admit of two masters than two suns." What 
a "mad boy! " — he could neither be beaten nor pacified. 

Next ensued the famous battle of Arbela, on the banks of the 
Tigris, 331 B. C. Alexander crossed the Euphrates with an army 
of only fifty thousand men, and met the Persian army of seven 
hundred thousand. A fearful fight ensued, in which the Persians 
were defeated with a loss of three hundred thousand men, while 
Alexander lost only five hundred. This great battle changed the 
tide of the world's affairs. Europe has ever since maintained the 
superiority over Asia, which was then acquired. Then, for the first 
time, was the ark of power removed from its old native home West- 
ward, from whence it has never gone back. Hence the proverb. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 319 

" Westward, empire makes its way." Darius, having first escaped 
into Media, and thence to Bactria, was there betrayed by Bessus, 
the satrap of the province, and murdered ; and soon the whole 
Persian empire submitted to the " mad boy." 

Not satisfied with his victories, Alexander projected, in 328 B. C, 
the conquest of India. In a great battle, he defeated Porus, a king 
of that country, who, upon being taken prisoner, and brought to 
Alexander, was asked by him how he wished to be treated ? He 
replied : " Like a king ! " This so pleased Alexander, that he 
released Porus, and restored his kingdom to him. 

Alexander's soldiers becoming weary of war, and seeing no prob- 
able end of the ambitious schemes of their leader, resolved to return. 
Being unable to overcome their reluctance to follow him further, 
Alexander yielded to them, and returned to Babylon. Hence it 
does not appear that he had " conquered the world, and wept 
because there were no more worlds to conquer." There were 
nations still east of where he went, besides formidable old Rome, 
and her tormenting rival, Carthage, in the west, still unconquered 
and uninvaded. ' 

This renowned conqueror of antiquity made Babylon the seat of 
his empire. Though usually accustomed to self-control, his brilliant 
career, with the extravagant adulations of the sycophants who sur- 
rounded him, he became at length intoxicated with his glory; 
believed himself a son of Jupiter, and a god ; believed he could do no 
wrong, and that his will should be the supreme law of his subjects ; 
and hence very soon ruled, not like a god, but like a depraved tyrant. 

It is said that Antipater, whom he left to govern Macedonia 
during his absence, wrote a long letter to Alexander, containing 
in many things of Olympias, his mother; when he said, with a 
smile: "Antipater does not know that one tear shed by a mother 
will obliterate ten such letters as this." On the other hand, Parme- 
nio, his best general, he caused to be assassinated on mere suspi- 
cion. Clytus, who saved his life at the Granicus, he ran through 
the body with a spear (precisely what Clytus did to save him), when 
heated with wine. He caused the philosopher Calisthines to be 
cruelly put to death for refusing to worship him as a divinity. 

He ran his career of conquest in six short years, dying in Baby- 
lon, from a fever brought on by a drunken debauch, in the thirty- 
third year of his life, and the thirteenth of his reign. 

Alexander's Successors. — He left his vast empire, without 
appointing any one to succeed him. On his death-bed, he gave 
his ring to Perdiccas; and upon being asked to whom he left his 
empire, replied : "To the most worthy." 



320 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

A scramble followed, among his soldiers, for a share in the spoils 
they helped to gather ; but the empire was finally divided among 
thirty-three of his principal officers. This was done after the fruit- 
less attempt to place upon the throne his son Hercules, by Bassine, 
one of his wives. His brother, Philip Aridocus, and a son, born 
after his death, named Alexander, were soon put to death ; and so 
his family was cut off. 

A series of wars and assassinations ensued, which put his king- 
dom into the hands, ultimately, of four of his generals, 312 B. C. 
Ptolemy had Egypt, Cassander had Macedonia and Greece, Lysi- 
machus had Thrace, and Seleucus had Syria. These were each in 
turn absorbed by Rome. 

Antipater. — Several attempts were made by the Greeks, in 
Alexander's absence, to throw off the Macedonian yoke, but were 
all suppressed by Antipater, who was left in charge. The Spartans 
and Athenians made resolute efforts to gain their liberty, but were 
subdued, and Athens was obliged to purchase peace by giving up 
ten of her public speakers, among whom was Demosthenes, who 
had excited the Athenians to resistance. 

Phocion. — The news of Alexander's death gave great joy to 
the Athenians, whom Demosthenes tried to arouse to resistance; 
but he was strongly opposed by the incorruptible Phocion, who 
was a strenuous advocate of peace, and whose language was: 
" Since the Athenians are no longer able to fill their wonted glori- 
ous sphere, let them adopt counsels suited to their abilities, and 
endeavor to court the favor of a power which they cannot provoke 
but to their ruin." 

The spirit of turbulence could not rest in Athens ; after the 
death of Antipater, the Athenians proceeded to put those to death 
who had been friendly to his rule, among whom was the venerable 
Phocion, now upwards of eighty years of age. He had been forty- 
five times chosen governor of Athens, besides performing eminent 
services for the country. To a friend who lamented his fate, he 
said: "This is no more than what I expected; this treatment, the 
most illustrious citizens of Athens have received before me." 

The following message he sent to his son, just before taking the 
hemlock : " Tell him that I desire he will not remember the injus- 
tice of the Athenians." 

Athens enjoyed twelve years of quiet and prosperity under the 
rule of Demetrius Phalereus, to whom the Athenians testified their 
gratitude by erecting three hundred and sixty statues to his mem- 
ory. After him, the glory of Athens wasted away ; " Ichabod " 
eclipsed her renown. Following immediately upon the invasion of 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 32i 

Greece by the Gauls, under Brennus their king, was that of Pyrr- 
hus into the states of the Peloponnesus. He was King of Epirus, 
and the greatest general of his age. Besides an unsuccessful attack 
upon Sparta, he was slain at the siege of Argos, with a tile thrown 
by a woman from the top of a house. See Abimelech. 

Achaean League. — The last effort of the Greeks to save them- 
selves from annihilation, was the union of twelve of the smaller 
states into the Achaean League. 

The government of this confederacy was committed to Aratus, 
with the title of Pretor. He designed establishing the independ- 
ence of all Greece ; but the jealousy of the larger states rendered 
the scheme abortive. 

Aratus was succeeded by Philopoemen, a man of abilities, but with 
the unenviable title of " The last of the Greeks," as Greece pro- 
duced no man of note after him. He committed a wanton butchery 
upon the people of Sparta, when they fell into his hands ; but was 
himself taken by the Messenians, and compelled to drink hemlock. 

Sparta had at this time a miserable king, named Nabis. He ban- 
ished most of the wealthy citizens, that he might seize upon their 
estates. He also invented a machine, resembling his wife, the 
breasts, arms, and hands of which were full of iron pegs, covered 
with magnificent garments. If any one refused to give him money, 
he was introduced to this machine, which would lay hold of him, 
and, by her terrible hugging, compel him to give Nabis money. 
(A similar instrument was used in the dungeons of the Inquisition, 
in Spain, to extort confessions from the Waldenses.) 

The first step of the Romans towards the subjugation of Greece, 
was in giving aid to the JEtolians, against the Macedonians. (They 
probably thought as little that they were inviting their conquerors 
into the country, as did the Persians, when they employed the ten 
thousand Greeks. Both those expeditions gave the subsequent 
conquerors the desired knowledge of the enemy's country). This 
invitation the Romans promptly accepted, and their army, under 
command of Quintius Flaminius, defeated Philip, King of Mace- 
don, at Cynocephale, and proclaimed liberty to the Grecian states. 

Nearly thirty years after, or 167 B. C, a second Roman army, 
led by Paulus iEmilius, entered Greece, defeated Perseus, son of 
Philip, in the battle of Pydna, and he was led captive to Rome. 
Macedonia was reduced to a Roman province. 

The Romans, jealous of the Achaean League, sought to weaken 
it, by corrupting its principal citizens, and cherishing divisions 
among the states. At length the Spartans invoked the aid of 
Rome against the League. Metellus led his legions into Greece, 

41 



322 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

and gained a complete victory over the Achaean forces. The 
remainder of the army shut themselves up in Corinth ; the Roman 
consul, Mummius, finished the conquest by taking and destroying 
the city. The Achasan constitution was soon after dissolved, and 
all Greece reduced to a Roman province, under the name of 

Achaia. 

» 

Greece, though conquered by the Roman arms, yet maintained a 
silent superiority, in the influence of her learning, taste, genius, and 
arts. The most distinguished Romans were educated in the Gre- 
cian schools of philosophy ; so that the victors became the disciples 
of the vanquished. 

In reviewing the history of Greece, if we take our stand where 
we can see their genius, taste, learning, patriotism, love of liberty, 
and heroism, the Greeks stand renowned and unrivalled among the 
nations of antiquity. But if we look at the fickleness, ingratitude, 
and injustice, shown towards some of her most worthy citizens, they 
aj:>pear in a light in which no true man would consider it either safe 
or honorable to be their public servant. Conquest was the ruling 
j)assion of the Greeks ; and living in the age of " war for power," 
they not only partook of the spirit of the times, but contributed, in 
no small degree, to lend honor and glory to the wicked trade of 
war. 

From their own writings it is evident that the boundaries of 
right and wrong, justice and injustice, honesty and dishonesty, were 
little determined by any generally received principles ; but that 
" might made right" especially in public transactions, was a tenet 
generally avowed and practised. Hence the best specimens of self- 
education and self-culture ever furnished the world (in the history 
of the Greek nation), having failed of making even themselves a 
model specimen of humanity, justice, and piety, we instinctively 
turn from them, to look for some better guide for man than human 
wisdom has been able to afford him, either as a member of society, 
or as a being formed for immortality. 

About one hundred and fifty years after this, the much desired 
wisdom was brought to light, in the Life, Teachings, Death, Resur- 
rection, and Ascension of the " Desire of all jSTations." 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 323 

II.— AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 
SYEIA— FROM 3703 A. M., AND 301 B. C, TO 3939 A. M., AND 65 B. C. 

Syria presents but very little worthy of notice ; and all the reason 
we have for noticing it here, is simply because of hostility shown 
by some of its kings to the Jewish nation. No conqueror ever 
showed them more favor than Alexander, and none ever showed 
them more ill-will than his successors in Syria. 

Seleucus. — Antigonus, one of Alexander's generals, succeeded 
to his Asiatic dominions, but was supplanted by Seleucus (son of 
Antiochus, one of Philip's generals), also Alexander's general. 

Antigonus was slain in the battle of Ipsus, when Seleucus 
founded the kingdom of Syro-Media, 312 B. C, which continued 
about two hundred and forty-seven years. It was governed by 
twenty-three kings, called " Seleucidae," from the founder. Seleu- 
cus was a great general, an able and popular sovereign, surnamed 
Nicator, or Conqueror, on account of twenty-three battles in which 
he gained the victory. He founded sixteen large cities, the most 
famous of which were Antioch, Seleucia, Apamea, and Laodicea. 
Antioch became the capital of the kingdom, and was called the 
" Queen of the East," and the " Eye of the Christian Church." 

Antiochus the Great. — He was the sixth of the SeleuciclaB, 223 
B. C. He reigned thirty-six years, and was as much distinguished 
for his faults and misfortunes, as for his qualities and successes. He 
was visited by Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general, who en- 
deavored to persuade him to make war upon Rome. Instead of 
this, he invaded Greece, was defeated by the Romans, and com- 
pelled to retire to Asia. Being pursued by the Roman army, under 
Scipio Asiaticus, and defeated at Magnesia, he was compelled to 
accept a peace on very humiliating terms, and was afterwards put 
to death by his own officers. 

Antiochus Epiphanes. — This was the eighth king of Syria 
under the Seleucidae. 

Epiphanes was a monster of cruelty. After being ordered 
out of Egypt by the Roman consul, he returned to Jerusalem, 
and vented his wrath upon the Jews, nearly annihilating their 
existence as a nation, and almost obliterated their ancient form of 
worship. Returning from Syria, for the purpose of crushing them 
utterly, he died in his chariot, singularly, suddenly, and terribly. 
Several other kings of Syria did much to injure the Jews as a peo- 



324 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

pie ; but, in spite of them all, they were wonderfully preserved as a 
nation. See Judas Maccabeus. 

Tigranes. — He was the twenty-second king of the Seleucidae, 83 
B. C. The Syrians, becoming weary of the dissolute reigns of the 
Seleucidae, determined to put an end thereto ; whereupon they in- 
vited Tigranes, King of Armenia, to accept the government at their 
hands. This he did, and swayed the sceptre of Syria for eighteen 
years, in perfect peace. Engaging afterwards in war with the 
Komans, he was defeated by Lucullus, the Roman consul, 69 B. C. 

After this, Antiochus XIII. (or Asiaticus, the last of the Seleu- 
cidae), was acknowledged King of Syria, until it was reduced to a 
Roman province by Pompey, 65 B. C. 



Ii._AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

CARTHAGE — FROM DIDO, 2844 A. M., AND 1160 B. C, TO ITS DE- 
STRUCTION BY THE ROMANS, 3857 A. M., AND 147 B. C. 

The first impulse given this famous city of old, was by Dido, a 
Tyrian princess. She was daughter of Belus, King of Tyre, and 
married her uncle Sichseus. Pygmalion, her brother, being the suc- 
cessor of Belus, coveting Sichaeus' property, ran him through with 
a spear, while out in a chase. Dido, suspecting her brother's design, 
asked the privilege, and the assistance of a few ships, to remove 
her effects to a small city between Tyre and Sidon, where she 
might live with her brother Barca. Her brother and others favor- 
ing her real design, as soon as she got her property on board, she 
set sail for Cyprus ; and there taking in a large number of young 
women, she sailed for Carthage, where she arrived somewhere from 
1150 to 900 B. C. 

Pygmalion, being defeated in his schemes, was about to send a 
fleet after the fugitives, but was dissuaded by the tears of his 
mother, and the threatening predictions of the oracle. The beauty 
of Dido, as well as the fame of her enterprise, gained her many 
admirers. Being threatened with war by Iarbas King of Maurita- 
nia, her subjects wished to compel her to marry him. Dido re- 
quested three months to consider the matter. During the time, she 
erected a funeral pile, under pretence of appeasing the spirit of 
Sichaeus, to whom she had vowed eternal fidelity. When her plans 
were completed, she ascended the pile in presence of her people, 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 325 

and stabbed herself; for which feat she is called "Dido" or valiant 
woman. The term " dido," a trick, is also named from her. She was 
noted for valor and tricks. Wishing to purchase a piece of land in 
a very important location, she could only have a piece "as large as 
she could cover with a green hide." She obtained the largest one 
she could find, had it cut in very small strings, and, by tying them 
together, drew the whole around a very nice patch of ground. 

The government of Carthage, at first monarchical, afterwards be- 
came republican ; and was commended by Aristotle, as one of the 
best of antiquity. The religion of the Carthaginians was a cruel 
superstition, and human victims were offered in sacrifice. 

In the time of the "Punic Wars," Carthage was the most com- 
mercial, wealthy, and one of the most splendid cities in the world. 
It had under its dominion about three hundred smaller towns in 
Africa, a great part of Spain, and also of Sicily and other islands. 
The Carthaginians worked the gold mines of Spain, and were de- 
voted to commerce. The Romans, who were their rivals and ene- 
mies, represented them as wanting in integrity and honor. Hence 
the ironical phrase, "Punica fides" (Punic faith), to denote treach- 
ery. Carthage produced few men of distinction, either in philoso- 
phy or arts. Her greatest generals were Hamilcar, and his sons, 
Asdrubal and Hannibal. The latter had instilled into his mind by 
his father, at an early age, mortal and unceasing hatred to the 
Roman name; and Hannibal proved the most formidable enemy 
Rome ever had. 

Several things will be omitted here, in the history of this ancient 
people, that will appear in the history of Rome, and her wars with 
Carthage. But the final destruction of Carthage may be here 
briefly described. At the close of the third Punic war, Carthage 
was humbled, and her people were ready to offer any submission, 
even to acknowledge themselves subjects of Rome. Besides this, 
the Romans demanded a promise of implicit obedience, and three 
hundred hostages, as a security for its fulfilment. 

In compliance with this, they gave up their own children as the 
hostages. Next, they were required to deliver up their arms, ships, 
and munitions of war ; this they did also. But when the last demand 
was made, to complete their degradation, which was to vacate the 
city, that it might be razed to the ground, their old Carthaginian 
pride was aroused. They resolved to fight or die, or both. Robbed 
of all means of defence, they were at first able to do but little, yet 
enough to astonish the Romans. 

Their vessels of gold and silver were converted into weapons of 
war, and the women cut off and twisted their fine hair into bow- 



326 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

strings ; and such was the desperate, and even successful resistance 
they offered, it is thought that the city would not have been taken, 
had not one of her own officers basely gone over to the enemy. 

Scipio iEmilianus cut off* their supplies of food, blockaded their 
port, and destroyed their army placed outside the walls, consisting 
of eight thousand; he then broke through the walls, demolishing 
and setting on fire the houses and public buildings. Asdrubal de- 
livered himself and the citadel to the conquerors. Devastation and 
ruin spread on every hand. The burning of the city continued 
seventeen days, consuming the habitations of seven hundred thou- 
sand people, who either delivered themselves prisoners of war, were 
massacred, or perished in the flames. The scenes of horror were 
such as to force tears from the eyes of the Roman general. The 
same year, both Carthage and Corinth were destroyed, and their 
interests absorbed in Rome. 



II. — AGE OF WAR FOR POWER. 

EOME. — FROM JANUS TO HONORIUS AND CONSTATINE XII. 

PERIOD I. FROil JANUS, 2715, A. It., 1289 B. C, TO THE FOUNDING OP ROUE, 3251 

A. II., 753 B. C. 

Jaxus. — The very early history of Italy is involved in obscurity. 
But we have an account of a king named Janus, who arrived there 
from Thessaly, as early as 1289 B. C, and planted a colony of 
Greeks on the banks of the river Tiber. Italy was divided into 
several small states, of which Latium was one, and of this Janus 
was king. 

Latinus. — The fourth king from him was Latinus, in whose 
reign ^Eneas arrived in Italy, with a band of exiles from the burn- 
ing of Troy. Latinus hearing of this arrival, and being already 
engaged in war with the Rutuli, immediately marched to meet the 
strangers, expecting to find a posse of banditti. But JEneas, though 
commanding a body of hardy veterans, held out the olive of peace. 
Latinus listened to their melancholy tale, and, pitying the misfor- 
tunes of the Trojan exiles, granted them a portion of land, on con- 
dition of their joining him against the Rutuli. 

iEneas eagerly embraced the offer, and rendered such excellent 
service to the Latins, that the king bestowed on him his only 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 327 

daughter, Lavinia, in marriage, with the right of succession to the 
crown. 

./Eneas. — This Trojan prince, though obliged to flee from the 
destruction of his once proud and valiant city, met a very pleasant 
fortune in Italy, by being engrafted into the royal family of the 
Latins. 

From this time, for four hundred years, the line of succession 
continued in his family, through fifteen kings. 

Numatok. — This was the fifteenth king in the direct line from 
jEneas. Amulius, the king's brother, being ambitious for the throne, 
usurped the government, drove Numator into exile, caused the 
king's only son to be murdered, and compelled Rhea Sylvia, his 
only daughter, to become a vestal ("nun"). 

His object in this was to cut off all possibility of his brother's 
family ever furnishing an heir to the throne. But this was not so 
to be ; for Sylvia, though a vestal, in the process of time became also 
a mother, giving birth to a pair of twin boys, named Remus and 
Romulus. 

Amulius hearing of this breach of vestal vows (forgetting the 
"beam in his own eyes," as a murderer, usurper, and oppressor), 
immediately ordered the execution of the penalty of burning alive, 
imposed on erring vestals ; but was prevented from so doing, by the 
intercessions of his own daughter. 

The infants were thrown into the Tiber, by his order. The basket 
in which they were enclosed floated, and bore them to the foot of 
the Aventine Mount, where it stranded. It is fabled that a she- 
wolf nursed them and reared them; but this mistake arose from the 
circumstance, that the woman's name who found them was Lupa, 
which means "she-wolf." (Not wholly unlike the story of Moses, 
hid in a basket, and not impossible that it was fabricated out of the 
story of the Hebrew child.) 

The two brothers became shepherds, were fond of hunting wild 
beasts, and finally went to opposing the bands of robbers that in- 
fested the country. Having been informed of their (half) royal 
birth, and of the treatment of their mother and grandfather, and 
the attempt upon their own lives, they turned their arms against 
their uncle Amulius, and killed him. Numator, after forty-two 
years of exile, was again seated upon the throne by his grandsons. 
To these brothers Numator granted a section of territory, and the 
liberty of building a city on the hills where they had fed their 
flocks, and permitted such of his subjects as chose to resort thither 
and aid in the work. 

A difference of opinion arising between the brothers, about the 



328 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

precise spot to begin the city, Numator advised them to watch the 
flight of birds. They took their stations on different hills ; Remus 
saw six vultures, Romulus saw twelve. Both claimed the victory, 
— one had the first omen, the other the more complete. A contest 
was the result; when Remus, jumping over the walls of the city, 
was struck dead on the spot by Romulus, who declared that no one 
should insult his rising walls with impunity. 

Romulus, now only eighteen years of age, was left to pursue the 
enterprise alone. (One is reminded here of the case of Cain and 
Abel.) He fixed on the Palatine hills as the spot, and enclosing 
about a mile of territory in extent with a wall, he filled it with one 
thousand houses or huts. To this beginning he gave the name of 
Home, after himself, 3251 A. M., 753 B. C. At first, he peopled it 
with the tumultuous and vicious rabble which he found in the 
neighborhood. Though nearly destitute of laws, it soon became a 
regulated community. 



PERIOD II. FROM THE FOUNDING OF ROME, 3251 A. M., 753 B. C, TO THE COMMON- 
WEALTH, 3495 A. M., 509 B. C. 

Romulus. — Having been elected king, he introduced order and 
discipline among his subjects. The course he pursued so com- 
mended itself to observers, that great numbers of men from the 
small towns around Rome flocked to the city, so that it increased 
daily in power and extent. 

He is said to have divided his people into three tribes, and each 
tribe into three wards. He further divided them into two orders : 
patricians and plebeians. He instituted a senate of one hundred 
members, afterwards increased to two hundred. At first, they were 
chosen from the patricians, but the plebeians were afterwards raised 
to that dignity. In hope of uniting the two orders, he established 
the connection of patron and client. Each plebeian had a right to 
choose a patrician for his patron, whose duty it was to protect him 
from oppression, and who received from his client certain services. 
The king was attended by twelve lictors with fasces (i. e., an axe 
tied up in a bundle of sticks), and a guard of three hundred horse- 
men, called knights. 

The division of the people into patricians and plebeians, was a 
very unwise and unnecessary one, beside being a very injurious one. 
It was the source of more discontent and strife than any other. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 329 

Indeed, the experience of the Romans on this point establishes the 
importance of " the equality of all the citizens before the civil author- 
ity" The opposite course will work its own repeal, or the nation's 
political ruin that adopts it. 

The most celebrated affair that occurred during the reign of Rom- 
ulus, was the " Rape of the Sabine women," as it is called* The 
people who gathered around him at first were men, and soon they 
all began to feel the truth of the divine maxim, " It is not good for 
man to be alone." Upon this, Romulus proposed intermarriage 
with the Sabines, his neighbors. His offer was rejected with scorn, 
upon which he had resort to artifice and force. A magnificent dis- 
play was gotten up in the city, and the neighboring tribes were 
invited to attend as spectators, when it was found the Sabines, with 
their wives and daughters, were among the foremost to be present. 
At a given signal, the' Roman youth rushed in among the crowd 
with drawn swords, seized the youngest and most beautiful of the 
women, and carried them off by violence. This bold intrusion 
gave great offence to the virgins at first, but for some cause, they 
finally became reconciled to their new situation. 

The Sabines resented the affront, and flew to arms. Under their 
leader, Tatius, they entered the Roman territories ; and having, by 
stratagem, gained some advantage, they kept up the war at pleas- 
ure. At length both parties prepared for a general engagement. In 
the midst of the fight, the Sabine women, who had been carried off 
by the Romans, rushed in between the combatants, and exclaimed : 
"If any must die, let it be us, who are the cause of your animosity; 
since, if our parents or our husbands fall, we must in either case be 
miserable in surviving them." This step had the desired effect ; 
and a compromise was agreed upon, which was, that Romulus and 
Tatius should reign. jointly in Rome. Also, that one hundred Sa- 
bines should be admitted into the senate, and that as many of the 
Sabines as chose should enjoy the privileges of Roman citizens. 

Tatius survived this affair but five years, when Romulus was 
again left with the supreme power in his hands. In attempting to 
usurp the liberties of his people, it is said the senators tore him in 
pieces in the senate house. The fable in the case, however, is, that 
while in the act of giving instruction to the senators, he disappeared 
from their sight. An eclipse of the sun occurring at that time, was 
used to favor the rumor that he was taken up to heaven. 

The above device for obtaining wives might have been an imita- 
tion of a like occurrence at Shiloh, when the Benjaminites obtained 
wives in a very similar manner. (See page 75.) The fable of the 

42 



330 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

translation of Romulus is doubtless founded upon that of Elijah 
the prophet, page 106. 

The Romans paid Romulus divine honors, under the name of 
Quirinus, and ranked him among the gods. 

Compare his fate in the senate, and Julius Caasar's. 

Kuma Pompilius. — He became the next king of Rome, in about 
a year after the death of Romulus, — nearly seven hundred and fif- 
teen years before Christ. He was a Sabine, and the wisest and 
best of the Roman kings. "When offered the throne, he declined 
accepting it, until overpersuaded by the people ; he gave up his own 
wishes to comply with theirs. He is said to have been a wise and 
virtuous man, and before coming to the throne, lived contentedly in 
private. He multiplied the national gods, built temples, and insti- 
tuted different classes of priests, and a great variety of religious 
ceremonies. A kind of Solomon. 

The Romans received great benefit from the counsels of Nurna. 
He softened their fierce and warlike dispositions, by cherishing the 
arts of peace, obedience to the laws, and respect for religion. He 
built the temple of Janus (probably in honor of Janus of Thes- 
saly), which was open during war, and closed during peace. 

Tullius Hostilius. — He was the third king of Rome, 672 B. C. 
His disposition was warlike, and by his arms several of the neigh- 
boring states — among them were the Albans and Fidenates — were 
added to the dominion of Rome. The Sabines, now disunited from 
the Romans, became their most powerful enemies. Tullius reigned 
thirty-three years, and is said to have been killed by lightning. 
The remarkable battle between the Horatii and Curatii occurred 
during his reign. 

The story is as follows: In a war between the Romans and 
Albans, as the two armies were about to engage in battle, the 
Alban general proposed that the dispute should be decided by sin- 
gle combat, both parties to abide by the issue. To this the Roman 
general consented. The Horatii and Curatii were six in number, 
the sons of two sisters, each three at a birth, the former in the Ro- 
man, and the latter in the Alban army, — both parties renowned for 
their valor. Both armies were drawn up in battle form. When 
the signal was given, the six combatants rushed to the fight. Soon 
the Curatii were all wounded, and shouts of victory ran along 
the Roman lines. But soon, again, two of the Romans fell dead ; 
then the shout ran along the Alban lines. Quick as thought, the 
only surviving Roman fled. The Curatii followed in pursuit, and 
the Romans hissed him in his flight. But as soon as Horatius had 
drawn his pursuers after him, at distances from each other, meas- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 331 

ured by the severity of their wounds, he turned upon them, and, as 
he met them one after another, laid them dead at his feet. The 
hisses of the Romans were soon changed. 

But behold the end of earthly glory. Horatius, returning to 
Rome with his laurels, found his sister weeping over the death of 
the Curiatii, one of whom she was engaged to marry. In a moment 
his anger arose, and he killed her on the spot. Horatius was con- 
demned to die for his crime ; but, appealing to the people, he was 
pardoned; but his fame departed. (The challenge to single combat 
reminds us of the like, between David and Goliath.) 

Ancius Maetius. — He was the fourth king of Rome. He inher- 
ited the virtues of his grandfather, Numa, besides being a warrior. 
He conquered the Latins, and built the fort of Ostia, at the mouth 
of the Tiber. 

Tarquizst the Elder. — He was the son of a Corinthian merchant, 
and was elected the fifth king of Rome. He embellished the city 
with works of utility and magnificence ; built the walls of hewn 
stone ; erected the circus, or hippodrome ; founded the capitol ; and- 
constructed immense sewers, or aqueducts, to convey the rubbish 
and superfluous waters into the Tiber. 

Servius Ttjllius. — He was the son of a captive female slave. 
He ruled with political wisdom. He attained the vacant throne by 
his own address, and the assistance of his mother-in-law. He mar- 
ried the daughter of Tarquin. He established the census, by which, 
at the end of every fifth year, the number of citizens, their dwell- 
ings, number of children, and amount of property, was ascertained. 
(Similar to David's numbering the people.) 

Servius had two daughters ; the elder was gentle and submissive, 
the younger, haughty and ambitious. In order to secure the 
throne, he married them to two sons of the late king, named Tar- 
quin and Aruns, whose different dispositions corresponded to those 
of his daughters, — taking care to cross their tempers, hoping they 
would correct each other in these repects. Servius, having ar- 
ranged the succession, intended to retire to private life. 

But, alas! his violent-tempered daughter Tullia coveted her sis- 
ter's husband, and he reciprocating her affection for him, they mur- 
dered their partners, and the violent Tullia and Tarquin were 
united. 

They next plotted the death of Servius himself. And no sooner 
had Tullia heard of the death of her father, by the hand of Tarquin, 
than she ordered her chariot, and went to salute him as prospec- 
tive king. And while driving her on this base errand, her coach- 
man, seeing her father lying dead in the street, was about turning 



332 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

down another street, to spare her the horrid spectacle of her man- 
gled father's corpse ; but the base woman bade him drive on, and 
she saluted the wretched Tarquin while her chariot wheels were 
red with the blood of her gray-haired father. But of this cup, Tar- 
quin and royalty had to drink the dregs. 

Tarquin the Proud. — He was the last king of Rome, son of 
Tarquin the Elder, and son-in-law to Servius, and a tyrant. 

Having usurped the throne, he began his reign by putting to 
death-the chief senators, and governing in the most arbitrary man- 
ner; but his excesses soon disgusted his subjects, and he became 
the object of universal dislike. But his son Sextus having greatly 
indulged in detestable vices, became the occasion of his own and 
the king's ruin. 

He and Collatinus, a noble Roman, and some officers, while with 
the army besieging the town of Ardea, in the height of a drunken 
frolic were boasting what excellent wives each possessed. Collati- 
nus contended that his was best; and to carry on the joke, the 
young men mounted their horses and rode home, to see how their 
wives would be employed, taken by surprise. The ladies were all 
found visiting, and passing their time in amusements, except Lucre- 
tia, the wife of Collatinus. She was industriously spinning wool 
among her maidens at home. 

Sextus, smitten with love for the beautiful Lucretia, and, upon 
returning to camp, stung with the triumph of Collatinus over them 
all, plotted a terrible blow — one that would gratify his own lust, and 
inflict a deep wound upon Collatinus. Returning to the house of 
Collatinus, Sextus found Lucretia, who received him hospitably, as 
a jDrince and a companion of her husband in arras. But when the 
pall of night was spread, the vile Sextus brutally ventured upon the 
deed known in history by the title, "Rape of Lucretia." 

The unhappy Lucretia immediately sent for her husband and 
father, who brought with them Junius Brutus, and other friends. 
To them she related her mournful story, enjoining upon them to 
avenge her injury; and being unable to survive her dishonor, she 
plunged a dagger into her bosom, and expired. 

Brutus, whose father and brother had been slain by Tarquin, had 
feigned himself insane, waiting an opportunity for revenge. That 
time had now come. 

Snatching the dagger from the wound of the bleeding Lucretia, 
he swore upon the reeking blade: "Be witness, ye gods, that from 
this moment I proclaim myself the avenger of the chaste Lucretia's 
cause ! " This energetic speech and action, in one who had been 
reputed a fool, astonished Rome. Her corpse was carried to the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 333 

public square ; the vengeance of the people was aroused ; and, by 
the strenuous exertions of Brutus, the senate pronounced sentence 
of perpetual banishment against Tarquin and his family. 

Collatinus and Brutus then raised an army, and drove Sextus and 
his infamous father from Rome. The tyrant being expelled from 
his capital, and abandoned by his army, was never able to gain re- 
admission into the city. With the expulsion of the royal family, fol- 
lowed that of royalty also. Thus ends the line of the Roman kings, 
3495 A. M., 509 B. C. The reaction of the violence done Lucretia, 
swept away both the throne of the Tarquins and the royalty of 
Rome. 



PERIOD III. EROM THE COMMONWEALTH, 3195 A. M., AND 509 B. C, TO THE EIRST 
TRIUMVIRATE, 3945 A. M., 59 £. C. 

Brutus and Collatinus. — The government of Rome now 
passed from a regal to a republican form ; though for a time it was 
controlled by the aristocracy. But setting aside the king, they 
chose in his place two persons annually, from the patrician fami- 
lies, as presidents of the Republic, called consuls. The first consuls 
of Rome were Brutus and Collatinus, who had been so active in 
ejecting the royal family. 

Tarquin, as a matter of course, vowed revenge. Fleeing to 
Etruria, he succeeded in enlisting the two powerful cities, Yeii and 
Tarquinii, in his behalf. A large party existed also in Rome, who 
favored royalty; and a plot was formed, by which the gates were 
to be secretly opened, and let Tarquin and his army into the city. 
The plot being discovered, and the agents apprehended, what must 
have been Brutus' surprise to find two of his own sons among the 
conspirators. He, however, acted the part of a Roman consul, and 
ordered them beheaded in his presence, and remained unmoved 
during the execution. 

All hope from within being cut off, Tarquin was now left to 
seek aid outside the city. A battle ensued between his forces and 
the Romans, under Brutus and Valerius (chosen consul in place of 
Collatinus). In this battle, Brutus and Aruns (son of Tarquin) 
met, and so deadly was the strife, that they both fell dead together. 

The Roman matrons honored the memory of Brutus, by wearing 
mourning for him a whole year. He was further honored as the 
"Father of the Republic." Valerius was the first Roman who enjoyed 



834 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

the reward of a triumph, which was given him on his return to the 
city. 

Valerius. — He having become arrogant, from the honors be- 
stowed upon him, his popularity began to decline. With a view to 
save his sinking fame, he proposed a law, termed from him the 
Valerian law, which gave every citizen condemned by a magis- 
trate the right of appeal to the people. This gave the first blow 
to the aristocracy of the Romans. 

Horatius Cocles. — Tarquin, after his second defeat, fled for aid 
to Porsenna, King of Clusium, who marched toward Rome with a 
large army, and would have entered it, but for the valor of one 
man. 

Horatius Cocles, while standing as sentinel on a bridge, saw the 
enemy approaching, and the Romans retreating. He eagerly be- 
sought the latter to remain and demolish or burn the bridge, while 
he should face the foe and hinder their advance. The Romans sec- 
onding his proposal, Horatius then advanced, and fought desper- 
ately in the midst of his enemies, until he heard the crash of the 
bridge, when he turned and fled. Leaping into the river, he 
swam safely across, having effectually stopped the enemy, and 
saved Rome. 

Mutius Sc.evola. — This bold Roman youth obtained liberty of 
the senate to go in disguise into the camp of Porsenna, for the 
purpose of assassinating him. 

Entering his tent, and seeing a man there very richly dressed, he 
supposed him to be the king, and laid him dead. It proved, how- 
ever, to be only the king's secretary. In trying to make his escape 
from the camp, Mutius was taken, and brought before Porsenna, 
who threatened him with severe torture if he did not reveal the 
schemes of the Romans. Mutius, to show him the little effect tor- 
ture would have, put his own hand into a fire near him, and held it 
steadily there. Porsenna, seeing this fortitude, leaped from his 
throne, pulled the hand from the flame, and dismissed him without 
further harm. He doubtless inferred from this, that Roman cour- 
age was no trifle. Upon this incident peace was concluded, and so 
ended the third attempt of Tarquin to regain his throne. 

Mamilius, son-in-law of the Tarquins, excited the Latins to es- 
pouse their cause, and make war upon Rome. The city was again 
in danger ; but the plebeians refused to aid in repelling the enemy, 
unless the senate would release them from their debts to the patri- 
cians, by whom they were oppressed. The consuls found they 
could do nothing by pressing them into service, as the Valerian 
law gave them a right to appeal to the people, and so escape them. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 335 

An extraordinary emergency now arose. All orders by the con- 
suls could be thwarted by appeals. Hence the necessity for an office 
and officer, available on such critical occasions. This demand was 
supplied by the appointment of a dictator, to hold office not over 
six months, and only during the danger. He had authority to make 
peace and war, to levy taxes, appoint all public officers, and to dis- 
pense with the laws, without consulting the senate or people. 

Titus Laetius. — He was the first dictator of Rome, and was 
raised from being consul to this high office. He immediately raised 
a large army, and by his firmness and moderation, having restored 
tranquillity, resigned the dictatorship. See also Cincinnatus, Sylla, 
and Diocletian. 

Pothxtmius. — War having again been excited by the Tarquins, 
Pothumius was appointed to the dictatorship. Under him the 
Romans were victorious, and the sons of Tarquin were slain. 

But peace without, did not secure peace within Rome. The old 
feud between the creditors and debtors was again revived. On an 
alarm of war, the plebeians refused to take up arms in defence of 
the republic. Their plea was, "Of what consequence is it to us, 
whether our chains be forged by our enemies or our fellow-citizens? 
Let the patricians, since they alone have the reward of victories, 
encounter the dangers of war." At length, finding no relief from 
their oppressions, the whole army abandoned their officers, and en- 
camped on Mons Sacer, about three miles from the city, and were 
soon joined by the greater part of the people. (A natural result 
from the egregious folly of dividing the people into the two classes, 
— honorable and mean.) 

This was full as effectual a measure on the part of the plebeians, 
as the dictatorship on the part of the patricians. It had the de- 
sired effect. The senate took alarm, and deputed ten of the most 
respectable of their number, with authority to grant redress. Me- 
nenius Agrippa, one of the senators, is said, in his speech to the peo- 
ple, to have related with great effect the celebrated fable of the 
belly and the members. A reconciliation was brought about. The 
debts of the plebeians were abolished, and, for their future security, 
they had the privilege of choosing annually from their number, five 
magistrates, styled "tribunes" who should have power of annulling, 
by a single veto, every measure which they should judge prejudicial 
to their interests. By them the aristocracy was held within bounds, 
and the fury of the populace was regulated. 

Cobiolajstjs. — The old feud of party was not, however, settled 
yet, nor could it be while impolitic distinction was kept up. The 
revolt of the army caused a neglect of agriculture, which brought 



ooG HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

on a famine. Relief, however, was obtained by an arrival of corn 
from Sicily. 

But the contemptible aristocrat, Coriolanus, a man of some talent, 
and who had distinguished himself in the war against the Yolsci, 
revived the old broil afresh. He proposed to withhold the corn 
from the plebeians until they should restore the rights (?) of the 
senate, and abolish the office of the tribunes. This base proposal 
excited the resentment of the people, and, as a consequence, the 
interference of the tribunes was called out, charges made against 
Coriolanus, and he was sentenced to perpetual banishment. He 
then went over to the Yolsci, and though he had fought them 
as a Roman, yet they appointed him their commander. These 
powerful enemies of Rome he led against the city, bent on its 
destruction. 

Several embassies were sent to meet him, and if possible turn 
him from his purpose, but to no avail. Finally his w T ife, Yergilia, 
and his mother, Veturia, with his children and the principal matrons 
of Rome, started to meet and dissuade him, if possible, from his mad 
scheme. They were successful. 

Before their tears and entreaties his proud spirit drooped, and his 
warrior's arm fell. In her agony, his mother exclaimed: "Had I 
never been a mother, Rome had still been free ! " In reply, he 
said, " O, my mother ! thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son." 
With this inglorious surrender the Yolsci were displeased, and he 
was summoned before the people of Antium ; but the clamors of 
his enemies were such, that he was murdered on the spot appointed 
for his trial. (Tyrants must expect a thorny path, who deliberately 
and maliciously trample on the rights of the people.) 

To show their sense of Yeturia's merit and patriotism, the Romans 
dedicated a temple to Female Fortune. 

Agrarian Law^. — This law was designed to meet the objection 
of the plebeians to enduring the fatigues of the wars and not sharing 
the spoils. It contemplated the division of the lands, obtained by 
conquest, among the people, and which were to be the joint prop- 
erty of all the citizens. 

But it proved to be a bone of contention, not from its impropriety, 
but from the unwillingness of the patricians to yield even a fair 
share of the spoils to the plebeians, who did the fighting and en- 
dured the toils of the camp. The strife, however, ended in the 
triumph of the people. 

Yolero. — The monopoly and abuse of the supreme power by 
the patricians, worked its own cure. The frequent compliances on 
their part w T ith the demands of the people, and as frequent violation 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 337 

of good faith, destroyed all confidence in their integrity, and hence 
no peace could be permanent until they were deprived of the power 
they held only to abuse. 

Through the influence of the tribune Volero, this important end 
was secured. A law was enacted, that the election of tribunes 
should be made, and the chief public business discussed, in the 
Comitia, or public meetings of the tribes, and not, as before, by the 
centuries and wards. By this law the supreme authority was taken 
from the patricians, and put into the hands of the plebeians, and 
Rome became a democracy, about 471 B. C. 

Quinctius Cincinnatus. — Troubles arising from the operation 
of the " Agrarian Law," and the threatened invasions of the iEqui 
and Volsci, the Romans again had recourse to the despotic measure 
of choosing a dictator, when Cincinnatus was chosen, 456 B. C. 

He was fixed upon, as the wisest and bravest man of the common- 
wealth. He cultivated a small farm of four acres with his own 
hands. The deputies of the senate found him ploughing in one of 
his little fields, and approaching him, begged him to put on his gown 
and hear the message of the senate. 

Cincinnatus anxiously inquired if all was well, and then requested 
his wife Racilia to bring his gown from their cottage. After wiping 
off the dust, with which he was covered, he put on his robe and 
went to the deputies. They saluted him Dictator, and bid him 
hasten to the city, which was in the greatest peril. 

A handsome barge had been sent to carry him over the river, for 
his farm lay on the opposite side of the Tiber. His three sons, 
with his friends, and several of the senators, were ready to receive 
him as soon as he landed in Rome, and carry him in pompous pro- 
cession to his head-quarters. 

The next morning he began to fortify the city and marshal the 
soldiers for battle. He very soon gained a complete victory, and 
caused the officers of the enemy to pass under the military yoke of 
disgrace. He then entered the city in a splendid triumph, resigned 
his office, and in sixteen days returned again to his retirement, to 
labor upon his farm. 

Many years after this, in the eightieth of his age, he was again 
called to the office of dictator, and acted with his own peculiar vigor 
and wisdom. 

Decemviri. — Hitherto, the Romans had never had a written code 
of laws. Under the kings and consuls, the exercise of justice and 
the public weal were at the mercy and caprice of these high func- 
tionaries. The frequent abuse of power by them, led the people to 

43 



338 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

desire some standard by which they might expect, and demand, a 
fair and uniform administration of the government. 

Three commissioners were accordingly chosen, and sent to Greece, 
in order to procure the laws of Solon, and such others as were 
deemed useful in forming a suitable code. Upon the return of the 
commissioners, ten of the principal senators, styled decemvirs, were 
appointed to digest a body of laws, and put them in execution for 
one year. This was the origin of those celebrated statutes, known 
by the name of the "Laws of the Twelve Tables" (being written 
on the twelve tables, and placed in the most conspicuous part of the 
city), and are still in repute in some parts of Europe. 

Nine crimes, of very different complexion, were punishable by 
death, one of which was nightly meetings. The decemvirs were 
invested with absolute power, and during their term of office all 
other magistrates were suspended. Each decemvir, by turn, pre- 
sided for a day, and had the sovereign authority, with its insignia, 
the fasces. The nine others acted as judges, to determine law-suits 
and correct abuses. During the first year, the decemvirs governed 
with so much moderation and equity, that they obtained a new 
appointment. But they soon became tyrannical, and the office was 
speedily terminated. 

Appius Claudius. — He was the leading member of the body, 
and by two flagitious acts of his, the office of the decemviri sunk in 
disgrace. 

One of these acts was his procuring the assassination of Sicinius 
Dentatus, a Roman tribune, who, on account of his valor and 
exploits, was styled the Roman Achilles. The other was an attempt 
to get into his possession a young maiden named Virginia. Having 
seen her as she was going to a public school, he fell in love with her, 
and proposed marriage to her. . She declined his offer, as she was 
already engaged to marry Icilius, formerly a tribune. 

Appius, bent on his purpose at all hazards, employed a miserable 
dependent of his to claim her as a daughter of one of his female 
slaves. This the vagabond did ; and, bringing his case before the 
infamous decemvir, obtained a decision, putting the beautiful girl 
into the hands of Appius and his minion. 

Virginius, her father, then at a distance with the army, being in- 
formed by Icilius of what was going on in the city, hastened thither 
with all possible despatch. Finding all was lost, and this wretch 
was about to tear his daughter from him by the strong arm of law, 
he resolved upon one more desperate attempt to liberate her. He 
begged, as he could not rescue her, the privilege of embracing her 
for the last time, before they parted. 



TilSTORY OF EMPIRE. 339 

This request being granted, lie clasped his child in his arms, while 
she clung round his neck, wetting his cheeks with her tears. As he 
was tenderly kissing her, before raising his head he suddenly plunged 
a dagger into her bosom, saying, " O my child ! by this means 
only can I give thee freedom !" He then held up the bloody instru- 
ment before the now pale and frighted Claudius, and exclaimed : 
"By this innocent blood, Appius, I devote thy head to the infernal 
gods ! " 

An uproar followed. Icilius showed the dead body to the people, 
and roused their fury. • Virginius hastened to the camp, bearing the 
dagger reeking with his daughter's blood, and instantly the camp 
was aroused. Neither the decemviri nor the senate could still the 
tumult. 

Appius died shortly after, in prison, by his own hand, and the 
other decemvirs went into exile. Public tranquillity was restored 
by the consent of the senate to abolish the decemviri, and to restore 
the consuls, together with the tribunes of the people. 

Inteemaeeiage. — The division of the people into patricians and 
plebeians, the bane of Roman jurisprudence, always disturbed the 
state, as soon as war outside was hushed. Such a distinction exhibits 
the ignorance of its originators and abettors ; and its unsoundness 
as a line of policy, is seen in the spontaneous and endless feuds it 
generates among those who are its victims. 

Growing out of this most unstatesmanlike division of the people 
by Romulus, was the refusal of intermarriage between the patricians 
and the plebeians.- (The Romans had probably forgotten, at this 
time, where their forefathers got their wives, and how. See " Rape 
of Sabine Women.") The point was however, after a long struggle, 
conceded, in hope that this would satisfy the plebeians to remain 
quiet, and allow the aristocracy to go on unmolested in their schemes 
of aggrandizement and oppression. 

Consulship. — The plebeians, however, were not content with any 
nor all concessions made to them, so long as there remained any 
mutual interest which was monopolized by the patricians. Equality 
before the civil authority shall extend to all classes alike, was their 
motto. 

The restriction of the office of consul to the patrician order, fur- 
nished another source of uneasiness, which nothing but its removal 
could quiet. Military tribunes were substituted, three from each 
order, to take the place of the consuls, but were soon laid aside, and 
the consuls restored. 

Regulae Pat to the Teoops. — In order to avoid the evil 
which arose from the people's frequently refusing to enlist in the 



340 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

army, the senate introduced the practice of giving " regular pay to 
the troops." This opened the ranks to both orders, to enlist or not ; 
and, as all were paid, the complaint of unequal division of spoils was 
stopped. The army was under the control of the senate, and the 
ranks could be easily filled at all times. From this event, about 400 
B. C, the Roman system of war assumed a new aspect. The art of 
war was improved, and it now became a profession, instead of an 
occasional employment. The enterprises of the republic were more 
extensive, and its success more signal and important. This new 
mode of originating and keeping up armies is still adopted through- 
out the world. It was a new and very important era in the mode 
of warfare. 

Camillus. — The inhabitants of the city of Yeii, long the proud 
rival of Rome, equal in extent and population, had repeatedly made 
depredations on the Roman territories, and it was decreed that 
Yeii should be destroyed, whatever it might cost. 

After some time, in order to carry on the siege with more vigor, 
Camillus was appointed dictator. 

The Romans had nearly despaired taking the city, until the pros- 
ecution of the work was given up to Camillus. 

He at once conceived the project of entering the city by a mine, 
which he caused to be wrought, and which opened into the midst 
of the capital. He then gave his soldiers directions how to enter 
the breach — the place was soon filled with his legions, to the utter 
confusion of the besieged, when the city was plundered and de- 
stroyed. Thus, like a second Troy, was Yeii taken, after ten years 
of glorious (?) war. Camillus was honored with a splendid triumph, 
in which he was drawn by four milk-white horses. 

Two years after, he led the Roman army against the city Falerii. 
During the siege, a schoolmaster betrayed into the hands of Camillus 
all his scholars, expecting to receive a large reward for his treachery, 
giving him to understand that a large sum would be paid for their 
ransom, being the sons of the nobility of Falerii. Camillus, shocked 
at this perfidious action, sent back the boys in safety to their parents, 
and, giving each a rod, bade them whip the traitor into town. This 
generous behavior accomplished more for Camillus than his arms, — 
the place immediately surrendering, and leaving the terms to the 
Roman, which were very mild. Some time after these things, an 
accusation was brought up against Camillus, charging him with 
appropriating to his own use a part of the plunder of Yeii. Indig- 
nant at the ingratitude of his countrymen, he went into voluntary 
exile. 

Rome was destined now to feel the weight of the Gothic power. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 841 

Her successes were turned into reverses. Under the command of 
their king, Brennus, the Gauls laid siege to Clusium, a city of Etru- 
ria, when its people implored the assistance of the Romans. 

The senate despatched three of the patricians of the Fabian 
family on an embassy to Brennus, to inquire what offence the citi- 
zens of Clusium had given him. To this he sternly replied, that "the 
right of valiant people lay in their swords, and that the Romans 
themselves had no other right to the cities they had conquered. 

The ambassadors having obtained leave, entered Clusium, and 
assisted the inhabitants against the assailants. This so incensed 
Brennus, that he raised the siege, and immediately marched for 
Rome. After defeating the Romans with great slaughter, the 
Gauls entered the city, and after the general massacre, pillaged 
it, and then reduced it to ashes, and razed the walls to the ground. 

They next besieged the capitol, in which some of the brave 
young Romans had taken refuge, determined to resist to the last. 
At length, having discovered footsteps leading up to the top of the 
Tarpeian Rock, on which the capitol stood, a body of Gauls under- 
took to ascend it in the night, which they did, while the Roman 
sentinel was asleep. At this moment, the cackling of some geese 
in the temple of Juno, awoke Marius Manlius, who, with his asso- 
ciates, immediately threw the Gauls headlong down the precipice. 

From this time the hopes of the Gauls began to decline; and 
they soon after agreed to quit the city, on condition of receiving 
one thousand pounds of gold. But after the gold was brought, the 
Gauls weighed it with false weights, and the complaint of this, made 
by the Romans, was treated with insolence by the Gauls. At this 
juncture, Camillus, who had been reappointed dictator, appeared 
at the gates with an army, and, being informed of the deception 
and insolence of the Gauls, ordered the gold carried back to the 
capitol, and ordered them to retire; adding, that "Rome must be 
ransomed by steel, and not by gold." Upon this a battle ensued, 
when the Gauls were entirely routed, and Camillus was honored as 
the father of his country, and the second founder of Home. 

Manlius was amply rewarded for his heroism (after being awak- 
ened by the geese) ; but at length, envying the fame of Camillus, he 
abandoned himself to ambitious views, and being charged with 
aiming at sovereign power, he was sentenced to be himself thrown 
from the Tarpeian Rock. Thus, for aiming to rule Rome as the 
Gauls did, like them also he paid the same penalty. On this rock 
he built his fame and shame. 

Lucius Sextius. — About 367 B. C, the plebeians gained admit- 



842 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

tance to the consulship ; so that one of the two consuls was chosen 
from their order. 

This long-desired end was at last attained, by the discontent of a 
young woman. Fabius Arabustius, having married his two daugh- 
ters, one to a plebeian and the other to a patrician, the wife of the 
plebeian, envious of the honors of her sister, pined with discontent. 
Her father and brother, learning the cause of her unhappiness, 
promised her the distinction she desired. By their joint endeav- 
ors, and after much tumult and strife, the long-contested point was 
gained ; and now a plebeian might be a consul. Lucius Sextius was 
the first plebeian consul, and Licinius Stolo, the husband of the 
plebeian lady, was the second. 

Lucretia caused the overthrow of the Roman kings; Virginia 
caused the overthrow of the Decemviri ; and the daughter of Am- 
bustius, the overthrow of the distinction between the patricians and 
plebeians. Behold woman's power ! 

Roman Conquests. — From the time of giving regular pay to 
the army, and the admission of the plebeians to the consulate, the 
extension of the Roman Empire began in good earnest. 

After the Gauls were repulsed, and the Hernici, JEqui, Volci, etc., 
were subdued, a war of fifty years' length, brought the Samnites 
under the Roman dominion ; not, however, without the Romans 
being obliged to pass under the military yoke of disgrace (which is 
made by two spears being set up astride, and another bound across 
them), once at least. This compliment the Romans turned upon 
the Samnites soon after, and finally subdued them. 

The Latins next yielded submission. 

A painful incident occurred under the consul Titus Manlius, dur- 
ing the war with the Latins. He had ordered the Roman soldiers 
not to quit the ranks without permission, on pain of death. A son 
of the consul happened, with his detachment, to meet a troop of 
Latins, led by Metius. 

Metius dared the young Roman commander to single combat. 
Titus, forgetful of the order of his father, or indignant at the mock- 
ing Latin, sprang forward and slew him. Then gathering up the 
armor of the fallen foe, he ran and threw it at his father's feet, and 
told the story of his triumph. 

The consul turned from him, and, ordering the troops assembled, 
thus addressed him in their presence : 

" Titus Manlius ! You this day dared to disobey the command 
of your consul and the orders of your father. You have thus done 
an injury to discipline and military government, and must by your 
death expiate your fault. Your courage has endeared you to me, 



HISTORY OF EMPIEE. 343 

but I must be just ; and if you have a drop of my blood in your 
veins, you will not refuse to die when justice demands it. Go, lie- 
tor, and tie him to the stake." 

The young Roman calmly knelt down beneath the axe. 

If this be Roman virtue, let it perish from the earth. The con- 
sul's fault was greater than his son's. 

The Tarentines, who were allies of the Samnites, called in the 
aid of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, the greatest warrior of his age. 
He hastened into Italy, with an army of thirty thousand men, and 
twenty elephants. This mode of warfare astonished the Romans 
greatly, being wholly unaccustomed to it. But the bravery of the 
Romans astonished Pyrrhus even more, as his memorable saying 
indicates : " Oh, with what ease could I conquer the world, had I 
the Romans for soldiers, or had they me for their king." 

The physician of Pyrrhus wrote to Fabricius, the Roman general, 
that for a suitable reward he would poison him. Fabricius dis- 
missed the base proposal, saying : " We should be honorable even 
to our enemies ; " and immediately informed Pyrrhus of the treach- 
ery. Pyrrhus, admiring the generosity of his enemy, exclaimed : 
" It would be easier to turn the sun from his course than Fabricius 
from the path of honor." 

Not willing to be outdone in magnanimity by the Roman, Pyrr- 
hus released all his Roman prisoners without ransom. With the 
defeat of Pyrrhus, followed the submission of all Lower Italy to 
Rome. The different states of Italy, however, though conquered, 
stood in different relations to the parent state. Some were entirely 
subject to the Roman laws; others were allowed to retain their 
original institutions ; some were tributary ; others, allies. The spirit 
of conquest being now fully aroused in the breasts of the Romans, 
and not being satisfied with owning all that joined them, they 
began to look with longing eyes to the regions beyond. As yet 
they had made no naval conquests, and possessed no fleet. 

Carthage, bearing the aspect of a rival, was looked upon by the 
Romans as an object worthy of their attention. A pretext was 
found in a charge, that Carthage had assisted the enemies of Rome 
in the south of Italy, in her previous wars, and hence Carthage her- 
self was judged an enemy of Rome, and must be chastised. Thus 
began the first Punic War. The zeal of the Romans was not 
abated in this war, from the circumstance that the Carthaginians 
were rich in merchandise, silver, and gold. 

A better knowledge of maritime affairs was found necessary by 
the Romans ; and a Carthaginian vessel, being driven ashore in a 
storm, furnished a model ; and in two months a fleet of over one 



344 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

hundred vessels was prepared ; and, under command of the consul 
Duillius, a naval battle was fought, and the Carthaginians were de- 
feated, with a loss of fifty vessels. This victory put Syracuse into 
the hands of the Romans. 

A second naval battle soon followed, under Regulus, off the coast 
of Sicily, in which the Carthaginians, under Hanno and Hamilcar, 
lost sixty vessels. They then j^roposed peace, but it was rejected. 

Encouraged by this success, the Romans pushed across the sea 
into Africa, and took the small town of Clypea. Regulus, the 
leader, was ordered to remain there as pro-consul, and command 
the troops ; but he was unwilling so to do, wishing to return and 
take care of a small estate of seven acres. Being assured that this 
should be done, and his family provided for, he consented to 
remain. He led the Roman army before the gates of Carthage. 

But the Carthaginians had obtained Xantippus, a Spartan, to 
take the command, and under him the Romans were defeated, and 
Regulus taken prisoner. Having been kept a prisoner for several 
years, Regulus was finally sent with the Carthaginian ambassadors 
to Rome, to procure peace, with this oath upon him : that if the 
negotiation failed, he would return. 

Upon his appearance in Rome, the people were willing to pur- 
chase his freedom by granting the request of their enemies. But 
Regulus saw that it would be a disgrace to his country to do so. 
He therefore besought the senate to send him back (though he 
knew that death by torture would be the result), and to refuse the 
demands of the Carthaginians, and retain their prisoners. The 
senate consented to this proposition with great reluctance, and, in 
spite of the tears of his wife, the embraces of his children, and the 
entreaties of his friends, Regulus returned to Carthage. 

The Carthaginians put him to death by torture. 

But at length the Romans overcame the Carthaginians, even on 
sea, and they were compelled to sue for peace on very humiliating 
terms. One condition was, the surrender of Sicily to the Romans, 
and to pay them three thousand two hundred talents of silver, and 
release their captives. 

The Romans next made a conquest of Cisalpine Gaul. The 
peace between Rome and Carthage lasted twenty-three years. 
During part of that period the temple of Janus was shut, for the 
first time since the reign of Kuma. 

The second Punic war was begun by Hannibal, son of Hamil- 
car, the commander during the first one. Hannibal's father had 
caused him to take an oath when only nine years old, declaring 
himself the eternal enemy of the Romans ; and scarcely did they 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 345 

ever have a more terrible foe. At the age of twenty-six, he was 
raised to the command of the Carthaginian army. He began the 
second Punic war by besieging Saguntum, a city of Spain, in alli- 
ance with Rome. After a siege of seven months, the inhabitants 
set fire to the city, and perished in the flames. 

Hannibal then resolved to march his army over the Pyrenees, 
and afterward over the Alps, into Italy. This achieved, he gained 
four great victories over the Romans, the most important of which 
was that of Cannae, the most memorable defeat the Romans ever 
suffered. Over forty thousand of their troops were left dead on 
the field, together with the consul JEmilius. More than five thou- 
sand Roman knights were slain, and Hannibal sent over three 
bushels of gold rings to Carthage, taken from their fingers. 

Why Hannibal did not advance directly to Rome, after this great 
defeat of the Roman army, is not known. Instead of pushing his 
advantages to a successful issue, as he might have done, he lay at 
ease, comparatively, all the time losing ground, both in the energy 
of his troops, and the assaults of the Romans from time to time. 

While Fabius was continually harassing the Carthaginians, 
Scipio had made an entire conquest of Spain. At this juncture 
Scipio suggested to the senate the propriety of his going over into 
Africa, and thereby draw Hannibal from Italy. This suggestion 
being favorably received, he invaded Africa, and spread terror and 
victory towards Carthage. Hannibal, who had now been absent 
for sixteen years, was recalled to save Carthage from impending 
ruin. 

Hannibal and Scipio met on the plains of Zama, and great was 
the day and its battle. These two greatest warriors of the world 
gazed upon each other with mutual awe and admiration. Hanni- 
bal strove hard to procure an honorable peace, but the youthful 
Roman answered him with pride and disdain ; when the two armies 
prepared for battle. The contest was dreadful, and fatal to Car- 
thage. She lost forty thousand men in killed and prisoners, and 
was obliged to conclude a fatal peace, the terms of which were as 
follows : Carthage was to surrender all the islands of the Mediter- 
ranean, abandon Spain, give up all their prisoners, and their whole 
fleet, except ten galleys, and in future undertake no war without 
the consent of the Romans. Thus the end of the second Punic War 
resulted rh humbling Carthage. 

Hannibal survived this battle several years ; but, being hated and 
hunted by the Romans, said, at last, " Let us relieve the Romans of 
their fears, by closing the existence of a feeble old man ; " and ended 
his life by suicide. 

44 



346 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

The battle of Zama was 201 B. C. Syracuse, which had taken 
part with Carthage, and which was defended for three years by the 
inventive genius of the celebrated mathematician Archimedes, sur- 
rended to the prowess of Rome under Marcellus. Between this 
time and the third Punic war, Rome made conquest of Macedonia, 
in the defeat of Perseus, at the battle of Pydna ; also of Asia Minor, 
under Scipio Asiaticus, in the defeat of Antiochus the Great, at the 
battle of Magnesia. 

About fifty years after the close of the second Punic war, the 
Carthaginians attempted to repel the Numidians, who made incur- 
sions into the territory of the former. The Romans seized upon this 
act as a breach of the last treaty, — to undertake no war without 
the consent of the Romans, — and so came on the third Punic War. 
Porcius Cato, who now swayed the decisions of the Roman senate, 
had long cherished the savage design of annihilating Carthage, and 
was in the habit of closing his speeches with the expression, " De- 
lenda est Carthago," — Carthage must be destroyed. 

The Carthaginians saw the gathering storm, and, conscious of 
their inability to resist the Romans, sent two deputations to appease 
them, and avert, if possible, the threatened evil. 

They offered every submission ; yielded up their ships, their arms, 
and munitions of war. Three hundred hostages were demanded as 
a pledge of future good behavior, and they yielded up their chil- 
dren to meet this demand. 

But, to complete their degradation, they were required to leave 
their city, that it might be levelled to the ground. This demand was 
heard by the inhabitants with a mixed feeling of indignation and 
despair. The spirit of liberty and independence not yet being 
extinct, was roused to make the last effort for themselves, resolved 
to sacrifice their lives rather than obey this barbarous mandate. 
After the most desperate resistance for three years, the city was at 
last taken by Scipio, the Second Africanus, and being set on fire, the 
flames continued to rage for seventeen days. Such of the inhabi- 
tants as disdained to surrender themselves prisoners of war, were 
either massacred or perished in the flames. 

Thus was Carthage, with its walls and buildings, the habitations 
of seven hundred thousand people, razed to its foundations. The 
scenes of horror were such as to force tears even from the eyes of 
the Roman general! So complete was this final destruction, that 
even the place where it stood cannot now be discovered. This city 
was twenty-four miles in circumference. All the cities that be- 
friended Carthage shared her fate, and the Romans gave away the 
lands to their friends. The same year (146 B. C) in which Car- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 347 

thage was destroyed, Corinth was also taken, and Greece reduced to 
a Roman province. 

Brave and irresistible as were the Romans, they suffered a most 
humiliating defeat, by the JSTumantines, in Spain. Four thousand of 
the latter conquered thirty thousand Romans, under the consul Manci- 
nius. Scipio, however, being sent into Spain, soon redeemed the 
Roman name and honor. 

Gracchi. — The spirit of conquest being somewhat satiated (as 
well it might, with most of Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor, includ- 
ing proud Greece, at its feet), the Romans began to cast about for a 
new feature in bloodshed. This they soon found, in the renewal of 
civil strife. 

The Gracchi were sons of Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Afri- 
canus, conqueror of Hannibal. She was left a widow with eleven 
children. A lady once visited Cornelia, and after gratifying her 
pride in showing her her jewels, asked to see Cornelia's in return. 
Cornelia waited until her boys returned from school, when she said 
to her guest: " Behold, madam, — these are my jewels." Tiberius 
Gracchus distinguished himself by filling the office of tribune accord- 
ing to its virgin intention, though by it he lost his life. 

Attalus, King of Pergamus, having by his last will made the 
Romans his heirs, Tiberius proposed that the money be distributed 
among the poor. He also attempted to check the power of the 
patricians, by reviving the Licinian Law, which ordained that no 
citizen should possess more than five hundred acres of the public 
lands. This blow of abridgment upon the power and estates of 
the patricians, coming from a plebeian tribune, threw the aristocratic 
element into a great excitement, and consequent opposition. Hap- 
pening to raise his hand to his head, in a public meeting, his enemies 
laid hold upon that slight circumstance to accuse him of desiring a 
crown, and in the tumult that ensued he lost his life, together with 
three hundred of his friends, who were killed in the forum by the 
senators. 

Upon the death of Tiberius, the populace put his brother, Caius 
Gracchus, at their head, who was only twenty-one years of age at 
this time. He had lived in great retirement, yet did much good, 
and caused the enactment of many useful measures. He was tem- 
perate and simple in his food, and of an active and industrious dispo- 
sition. His love and respect for his mother were manifested in 
withdrawing, at her request, a law he very much wished to have 
passed. So much was he esteemed, that a statue was erected to the 
memory of his mother, with the inscription : " Cornelia, the mother 
of the Gracchi." 



348 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

The fatal issue of his brother's efforts did not deter Cains from 
pursuing a similar career, in maintaining the rights of the people 
against the encroachments of the senate ; and, like his brother, fell a 
victim to the cause he aimed to serve. Caius, with three thousand 
of his adherents, was slaughtered in the streets of Rome, by 
Opimius, the consul. The tumults attending the efforts of the Grac- 
chi, to remove the corruptions of the aristocracy at their own expense, 
were only the prelude to those civil disorders which hastened the 
downfall of the commonwealth. 

How palpable the folly, in the history of Rome, of dividing the 
people into patricians and plebeians, or noble and ignoble, the priv- 
ileged and restricted, the high and the low! All the "barbarians" 
that ever surrounded Rome, under all the four winds of heaven, 
never did her the damage that this false basis did, dictated either by 
the consummate ignorance, or more detestable haughtiness and pride, 
of Romulus. It wrought the downfall of Rome, as it will all civil 
governments which allow a part of the commonwealth to be disfran- 
chised before the civil authority. A common protection, or a com- 
mon ruin, must be the history of every nation. 

Jugubtha. — He was the grandson of Masinissa, who took part 
against Hannibal. He sought to usurp the crown of IsTumidia, by 
destroying his cousins, sons of the late king, JVlicipsa. Having suc- 
ceeded in putting Hiempsal, the elder of the two princes, to death, 
Abherbal, the younger, fled to Rome, and sought her aid. The sen- 
ate, being bribed by Jugurtha, divided the kingdom between them. 

Jugurtha then made war upon his cousin, whom he defeated and 
slew, and then usurped .the whole kingdom. This disregard of the 
senate, drew upon him the displeasure and vengeance of the Romans. 
Metellus, the consul, was sent against him, and in the course of two 
years he was defeated in several battles, and forced to negotiate a 
peace, which, however, was kept with Punic faith, and the war was 
continued. 

Marius, who had risen from a poor family to be of some note, man- 
aged to supplant Metellus, both in the consulate and command of the 
army against Jugurtha. Being a man of extraordinary stature, in- 
comparable strength, and undaunted bravery, he soon pressed the 
campaign, so well advanced under Metellus, towards a successful ter- 
mination. Bocchus, King of Mauritania, at first assisted Jugurtha ; 
but, fearing lest he might at last provoke the Romans to take his 
crown from him, and finding that he could secure their favor by 
betraying Jugurtha, did so. The Numidian usurper being now 
betrayed, became the prisoner of the Romans, whom he had insulted 
and fought, and was led in chains to Rome ; where, after gracing the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 349 

triumph of the conqueror, was condemned to starve to death in a 
dungeon. Who, in all this war, was the greatest traitor ? 

Social War. — After a short war with the Teutones and Cimbri, 
in which Marius slew several hundred thousands of them, the Romans 
had next to encounter a war with the states of Italy. The conditions 
on which they became connected with Rome were various and une- 
qual (see page 343), and hence arose an inequality of privileges. 
This condition of things gave rise to the " Social War," which was 
waged to obtain the rights of citizenship, 91 B. C. 

This war closed with the grant of those rights to all the states that 
would return to their allegiance. This social reform cost the lives of 
three hundred thousand of the flower of Italy, — showing again the 
vital importance of civil equality among the confederate states and 
all the citizens. 

Sylla. — The social war was soon followed by the Mithridatic 
war, 89 B. C. 

Mithridates was a powerful and warlike monarch, whose empire, 
at this time, embraced Cappadocia, Bithynia, Thrace, Macedon, and 
all Greece. He was able to bring into the field two hundred and 
fifty thousand infantry, and fifty thousand horse. He had also a vast 
number of armed chariots, and in his port four hundred war-ships. 
He had formed the design of uniting the northern and eastern na- 
tions in a confederacy, and, at the head of their united forces, of 
overrunning Italy. He began the war by causing eighty thousand 
Romans, who dwelt in Asia Minor, to be massacred in one day. 
Contrary to general expectation, and to the great mortification of 
Marius, Sylla obtained the transfer of the command of this war 
from Marius to himself. 

Rivalry in Rome was now transferred from parties to leading men. 
Sylla was a favorite of the aristocracy and senate, while Marius was 
an enemy of the aristocracy, and a favorite of the people. Marius, 
now seventy years of age, had been distinguished for nearly half a 
century for his warlike genius and exploits, and had been honored 
with two triumphs and six consulates. But his ambition could not 
endure to have the command given to Sylla, and he managed to get 
it transferred to himself. 

Sylla had now made such headway against Mithridates as to force 
him to desire peace ; and at the same time, he received the news of 
the transfer of his command to Marius, and an order from the senate 
to return to Rome. This order he at first refused to obey ; but his 
army desired him to march them to Rome, that they might inflict 
vengeance on his enemies. Sylla then granted the peace Mithridates 
desired, and improved the respite in marching his army to Rome. 



350 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

lie was met by the forces of Marius, which soon yielded and fled 
from the city. Now that Marius had fled, Sylla immediately sur- 
rounded the senate-house, and compelled that body to issue a decree 
declaring Marius an enemy to his country. 

Having driven his rival into Africa, and poured out his wrath upon 
Marius' supporters (thus putting Rome into a state of safety and 
peace, as he supposed), he returned to Asia to finish the Mithridatic 
war. He soon found that in keeping his eye so steadily on Marius, 
he had overlooked Cornelius Cinna, who, as soon as Sylla was gone, 
espoused the cause of the exiled general. 

Cinna was of the nobility, ambitious and daring, and had the 
address to raise an army with which to oppose the supporters of 
Sylla. At this juncture of affairs, Marius returned, with his son, to 
the gates of Rome. An army of veterans and slaves flocked to his 
standard, and, after a bloody battle, Marius and Cinna entered Rome 
as conquerors, when the massacre begun. Every enemy they could 
find they put to death, especially the senators who had yielded to 
Sylla's demand in decreeing Marius an outlaw and enemy. 

Marius having satisfied his ambition and revenge, he and Cinna 
assumed the consulship, without the formality of an election. (The 
first example of the kind in Rome, but soon followed by others.) In 
a month after this triumph, Marius died in a drunken fit ; while 
Cinna, who was preparing to meet Sylla in arms, perished by an un- 
known hand, in a mutiny of his own soldiers. What an eclipse of 
earthly glory ! 

Sylla soon after returned from his victorious campaign against 
Mithridates, and on his way met the forces of Cinna, under command 
of the son of Marius, also a large body of Samnites, who opposed 
his approach to the city. But, triumphing over them all, and leaving 
fifty thousand of victors and vanquished on the field, he entered 
Rome at the head of his army. A long list of Roman senators and 
knights, besides an innumerable multitude of the citizens, were the 
victims of his vengeance. Having obtained the dictatorship for an 
unlimited time, he could, with some show of justice, make the streets 
of Rome flow with the blood of her citizens. 

Sylla was now vested with absolute power, and without a rival. 
He controlled elections, and caused all oflices to be filled with his own 
creatures; and thus was despotism inaugurated in ancient Rome. 
To the surprise of all the world, Sylla voluntarily resigned the dicta- 
torship, after three years. He then retired to a small villa at Puteoli, 
where he spent the remainder of his days in licentiousness, and died 
of diseases contracted by his debauchery, " a loathsome and mortify- 
ing object of human ambition." He composed his own epitaph, in 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 351 

substance as follows : "lam Sylla the Fortunate, who have surpassed 
my friends by the good, and my enemies by the evil, I have done 
them." In the civil wars between Marius and Sylla, one hundred 
and fifty thousand Roman citizens were sacrificed, including two 
hundred senators and thirty-three ex-consuls. 

O Rome ! Rome ! 

Roman Feuds. — Roman liberty was now trembling on the 
brink of ruin. Though Marius and Sylla were dead, yet their 
old dissensions were kept alive. Catulus and Lepidus, the two 
consuls, entered the arena, the latter supporting the cause of Ma- 
rius. A few years after occurred the servile war, which was excited 
by Spartacus, a Thracian shepherd, who had been kept at Capua as 
a gladiator. Escaping from his confinement, he soon raised an 
army of forty thousand, and maintained for three years a vigorous 
war in the heart of Italy, and even meditated attacking Rome, 
His forces were defeated by Crassus, and himself slain. The com- 
monwealth had now disappeared in fact, and Rome was on the 
verge of absolute despotism. 



PERIOD 1Y. EROM THE EIRST TRIUMVIRATE, 3945 A. M., 59 B. C, TO THE DEATH 
OE AUGUSTUS CAESAR, 4018 A. M., 14 A. C. 

Julius Caesar. — The old patrician and plebeian feuds, inaugu- 
rated by Romulus himself, were now removed from the masses of 
the people, and kept in ferment by the rivalry of ambitious public 
men. Caesar espoused the plebeian cause. 

The confinement of the strife among the public men, soon led to a 
new form of government, by which the whole Roman nation was 
schooled in the grace of submission to absolute power. One of 
these master spirits was Julius Caesar. 

Julius was the son of Caius Caesar, one of the nobility of Rome. 
At sixteen years of age he lost his father, when Sylla sought to have 
him put out of the way, fearing the ambitious youth. But his 
friends succeeded in saving him from this plot. 

Sylla, however, warned them to beware of that loose-girt boy (al- 
luding to the loose manner of girting his tunic about him), "for I see 
many a Marius in that dissolute youth." This treatment from Sylla, 
together with marrying the daughter of Cinna, who joined Marius, 
turned Caesar's sympathy in favor of the latter. 

With his great name and connections, his eloquence and powers 
of mind, his tall, slender, and delicate person, with the reputation 



352 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

of being the handsomest man in Rome, he became very popular. 
His habit of running his fingers among the curls of his hair, when in 
public, led Cicero to remark, that one " would hardly imagine that 
under so fair an exterior there was hatching the destruction of the lib- 
erties of Rome." By his address he obtained the office of high-priest 
of the nation. For his bravery and talents in the siege of Mytilene, 
under Thermus, Prsetor of Asia, 80 B. C, Caesar was rewarded with 
a civic crown. All things together made him a character to be no- 
ticed, respected, and feared in the nation, and a fair candidate for 
any important office. After being entrusted with the governorship 
of Spain, he returned to Rome, where he was appointed to the 
important office of consul. 

Pompey. — After a few years of peace with Mithridates, war 
broke out again about 72 B. C. 

He repulsed the successor of Sylla in command of the army, and 
it became necessary to send a more able general into the field ; espe- 
cially since Mithridates had formed an alliance with Tigranes, King 
of Armenia. Lucullus was accordingly sent, and soon gained several 
important battles, and caused both these kings to feel the weight of 
the Roman power ; and peace would soon have followed, had not 
Lucullus been supplanted by intrigue, and Glabrio appointed to the 
command. This change was favorable to Mithridates, as he soon 
began to gain advantage against the Romans. Pompey, now the 
favorite hero of Rome, was next sent out, with almost the sole man- 
agement of the Mithridatic war. 

During the war, Pompey offered terms of accommodation to Mith- 
ridates, but they were rejected. 

Gathering up an army of the fragments of his former one, he was 
about to carry war into Armenia. 

Pompey came upon him, and he was obliged to flee ; and before he 
could pass the Euphrates, was forced to engage in battle. It being 
by moonlight, the archers of Mithridates discharged their arrows at 
the shadows of the Romans, through mistake, and he was over- 
thrown with great loss. He however escaped, sought aid of several 
princes, and even at this time meditated the invasion of the Roman 
Empire. This project coming to light, a mutiny ensued, promoted 
by his own son. Mithridates fled to his palace, and from thence 
sent to his son for permission to come out. This was refused him ; 
and now, seeing that a Roman captivity awaited him, he called for 
his family, and, together with them, took his own life. 

After defeating Mithridates, Pompey reduced all Syria, Pontus, 
and Arabia, to Roman provinces. After a siege of three months, he 
took Jerusalem, twelve thousand of its defenders — inhabitants — 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 353 

having lost their lives. After gratifying his curiosity with the holy 
things of the place, he restored Hyrcanus to the priesthood, and 
took Aristobulus with him to grace his triumph, 61 B. C, which was 
the most splendid that ever entered the gates of Rome. In it were 
exposed the names of fifteen conquered kingdoms, eight hundred 
cities taken, twenty-nine cities repeopled, and one thousand castles 
made to acknowledge the authority of Rome. The treasure he 
brought home amounted to over twenty millions of dollars, while 
the trophies and other splendors were displayed in most magnificent 
profusion. 

Sergius Catiline. — One more death-throe of the selfish, domi- 
neering, patrician party, and Roman liberty falls. 

A conspiracy was formed by Catiline, a patrician by birth, and of 
profligate life, associated with a similar class, to work the downfall 
of the country. The plan was, a simultaneous outbreak in all parts 
of Italy and Rome, the principal citizens to be put to death ; and 
so Catiline thought to sway the sceptre of Rome, standing on its 
ruins. But, through the vigilance of Cicero, the orator and consul of 
Rome, the diabolical project was defeated. He caused the conspir- 
ators in Rome to be seized and put to death. Catiline escaped, and, 
raising an army, attempted to seize by force what he failed to get 
by plot; but, coming in contact with the forces of the Republic, 
himself and his whole army were put to the sword. So ended this 
crushing patrician manoeuvre. 

Triumvirs. — Renown, wealth, and popularity, had each her can- 
didate for sole power in Rome, in the persons of Pompey, Crassus, 
and Julius Caesar. Each of them, desirous of that enviable distinc- 
tion, laid his plans for it. Pompey and Crassus were each intent 
upon having the command of the Republic ; Caesar paid court to 
both, and had the address to unite them, thus avoiding making him- 
self an enemy to either of them, and enjoyed the favor of both. 
From a regard to their mutual friend, Pompey, and Crassus agreed 
to a partition of power with Caesar, and thus was formed the First 
Triumvirate, 59 B. C. 

This coalition between Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, originated a 
power distinct from the senate or the people, and yet dependent on 
both ; it proved very detrimental to the public liberties. Caesar 
was chosen consul, and greatly increased his popularity by a 
division of lands among the poorer classes (the very measure by 
which the Gracchi lost their lives). He further strengthened his 
alliance with Pompey, by giving him his daughter Julia in marriage. 

Another act of Caesar's, less generous, though he thought safe, 
was the banishment of Cicero. This was done by intrigue. Caesar 

45 



354 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

employed Cloclius the tribune, to obtain the enactment of a law, 
that any one who had condemned a Roman citizen unheard, should 
himself be banished. This was brought to bear against Cicero, in 
the summary course he took with Catiline the conspirator ; and he 
was banished four hundred miles from the city, his houses demolished, 
and his goods set up for sale. (Great abuse, after being the means 
of saving the very city over which Caesar himself was so proud to 
rule.) Pompey concurred in this ungenerous act, but afterwards 
saw his mistake ; and, seeing the growing influence of Caesar, pro- 
cured Cicero's recall from banishment, to aid in propping up his 
falling fame. 

The Triumvirs distributed the foreign provinces among them- 
selves. Pompey had Spain and Africa, and remained in Rome; 
Crassus chose Syria, which was the richest ; Caesar took Gaul. 
Crassus, in a war with the Parthians, was defeated and slain, which 
soon left the empire in the hands of Pompey and Caesar, who then 
grew jealous of each other, as both wanted the sole rule. 

Caesar entered immediately upon his charge, and made rapid con- 
quest of the nations in the west of Europe. In 55 B. C, he invaded 
Britain. On approaching the island, he found the shores covered 
with native warriors, and he had no small difficulty in repulsing 
them, so that he could land. Having obtained several advantages 
over them, he bound them to conditions of submission, and returned 
to the continent for winter quarters. The Britons, being fond of 
liberty, and feeling that their obligation was only to a conqueror'' s 
yoke, determined to resist the Roman power. This led Caesar a 
second time into Britain. Having overcome them again, they were 
obliged to make peace. 

Thus, in the course of nine years, Caesar had conquered all the 
country between the Mediterranean and German Sea, together with 
Britain, taking eight hundred cities, subdued three hundred states, 
overcame three millions of men, one million of whom fell in battle, 
and the remainder made prisoners of war, besides making himself 
the idol of his army, by sharing with them every danger, and by 
his great liberality, affability, and clemency, and being in favor of 
the great body of the Roman people. 

Pompey, on the other hand, had all this time remained at Rome, 
managing to keep the principal offices throughout the country filled 
with his favorites. He had the good-will of the consuls and senate, 
and, with a few legions of soldiers at his command, he imagined 
himself safe and strong. Cicero, however, being a little suspicious 
of the growing popularity of his rival, expressed his surprise to 
Pompey that he did not put himself in a better attitude of defence, 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 355 

in case of war. To which Pompey replied : " I need only stamp 
my foot on the ground, and an army will arise." Thus the two 
master spirits of the empire stood, both ambitious, both powerful, 
both popular, though not equally so. An opportunity for trying 
titles was all that was wanting to start the issue, who shall rule — 
Pompey, or Caesar? 

Caesar's term of office being about to expire, he made application 
to the senate to be continued in his authority. But the senate 
being under the control of Pompey, he thought this the time to 
humble his rival, and so induced the senate to deny Caesar's request. 
Now the tug of war begins. Caesar, knowing the source of this 
refusal to extend his authority, resolved to maintain it by force. 
For this purpose, he bound his devoted army to him by an oath of 
fidelity ; he then led them over the Alps to Ravenna, where he 
made a halt. 

From this place he wrote to the Roman consuls, declaring that 
he was ready to resign all command, if Pompey would do the 
same. 

Pompey vainly supposing an order from the senate would bring 
Caesar to his knees, induced that body to answer Caesar's proposal 
with a demand for him to lay down his command, and disband his 
army within a limited time, on penalty of being declared an enemy 
to the commonwealth. 

Caesar, knowing the author of this insulting demand (Julia's 
death having some time previously broken the last bond of union 
between the two heroes), immediately marched his army to the 
banks of the Rubicon (a small river forming the boundary between 
Gaul and Italy), the extent of Caesar's command, and across which 
the Romans had devoted to the infernal gods, and branded with 
sacrilege and parricide, any person who should presume to pass with 
an army, a legion, or even a single cohort. 

On arriving at this famous stream, Caesar paused, and for a time 
weighed the momentous step before him. 

Turning to Pollio, one of his generals, he said: "If I pass this 
river, what miseries I shall bring on my country ; if I do not pass 
it, I am undone." In a little time he exclaimed : " The die is cast ! " 
and, putting spurs to his horse, plunged into the stream, and was 
soon followed to the opposite shore by his soldiers. 

News of this movement excited the utmost terror in Rome, and 
the citizens began to heap reproaches upon Pompey for his supine- 
ness. One of the senators asked him, in derision, " Where now is the 
army that is to rise at your command ? Let us see if it will come 
by stamping." Pompey, aware of his inability to cope with Caesar, 



356 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

fled into Macedonia, followed by the consuls and a great part of 
the senate. He took measures to levy troops, both in Italy and 
Greece. 

Caesar, having made himself master of all Italy in sixty days, 
entered Rome triumphantly, amid the acclamations of the people, 
and possessed himself of the public treasures and the supreme author- 
ity without opposition. He made a great display of clemency, and 
allayed the fears of the people that another Sylla massacre w r as at 
hand, saying, "the very thought of it" made him shudder. Pom- 
pey's lieutenants being in possession of Spain, Caesar started in a 
few days, for the purpose of conquering his forces there. Marching 
his army over the Alps again, all Spain submitted to him in forty 
days, and he returned victorious to Rome, where he was created 
dictator and consul. 

During this time, Pompey had secured the friendship of several of 
the sovereigns of the East, who offered him aid; and he had, by 
stamping, or some other means, succeeded in raising a large army. 
His cause was considered that of the commonwealth, and he was 
daily joined by crowds of the most distinguished nobles and citizens 
of Rome. He had in his camp at one time upwards of two hundred 
senators, among whom were Cicero and Cato, themselves a host. 
Caesar stayed in Rome only eleven days, not feeling easy until the 
strife between him and Pompey was brought to an issue. Coming 
in contact with him at Dyrrachium, the relation of the two armies 
was such as to make a battle necessary, w T hich resulted in nothing 
very decisive, but on the whole in favor of Pompey, who then led 
his troops into the plains of Pharsalia. 

Pompey had chosen an advantageous position, wdiich led Caesar 
to the artifice of decamping, in order to draw the enemy after him, 
and so provoked a general battle. Seeing the success of his strata- 
gem, with joy he informed his soldiers that the hour they had so 
long wished for had come, that whicn was to crown their glory 
and terminate their fatigues. The contest w T as an exciting one. 
The two armies, composed of the best soldiers in the world, com- 
manded by the two greatest generals of the age, and the prize at 
stake nothing less than the Roman Empire. Pompey's army con- 
sisted of forty-five thousand foot, and seven thousand horse ; while 
Caesar's numbered only twenty-three thousand foot, and one thou- 
sand horse. Pompey's soldiers were confident of success, and the 
spoils, while Caesar's were w r ell disciplined, and intent on fighting. 
Every heart was fired, and every arm nerved. The armies were 
both addressed by their commanders, and exhorted to sustain their 
reputation for bravery, both being Roman. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 85T 

The battle commenced on the part of Caesar. He, foreseeing the 
strength of Pompey's cavalry, laid his plan to break them as soon 
as possible. He accordingly sent out a detachment sufficient to 
draw out Pompey's cavalry to repulse them, but they were not to 
attempt to drive back the horse. Six cohorts were ready to receive 
the charge of Pompey's cavalry, with express orders to discharge 
their javelins at the faces of the horsemen. Pompey's cavalry was 
made up mostly of the younger part of the Roman nobility, who 
prided themselves upon their personal beauty, and dreaded a scar in 
the face more than a wound in the body. 

This unexpected mode of attack had the desired effect ; the 
flower of the nobility were wounded in their pride and power, and 
driven from the field; and thereby the day was lost to Pompey and 
to the Republic. The battle, which lasted from early in the morn- 
ing till noon, was now won by Caesar, with a loss of only two hun- 
dred men, while Pompey lost fifteen thousand killed, and twenty- 
four thousand prisoners. Thus ended the famous battle of Pharsa- 
lia, in Thessaly, 48 B. C. 

Caesar added to his laurels as victor, by his clemency and modera- 
tion. The soldiers he took as prisoners, he incorporated into his 
own army, and the senators and Roman knights he set at liberty. 
While gazing upon the battle-field, covered with his fallen country- 
men, he relieved himself by uttering the expression : " They would 
have it so." 

Pompey's fall was from a high place to a low one. Accustomed 
to victory for thirty years, and master of the Republic, robbed of it 
all in one day, and reduced to a miserable fugitive. As Pompey 
fled, Caesar pursued him. Pompey's first meeting with his wife 
Cornelia, after his misfortune, was distressing to the last degree. 
The tenderest expressions of affection and grief were mutually 
uttered. Pompey fled to Egypt, to seek the protection of Ptolemy, 
whose father he had befriended. But the ministers of Ptolemy, 
wishing to befriend Caesar, agreed to receive Pompey, but to assas- 
sinate him before he should £et ashore. 

This treacherous plot was carried out, and just as the conquered 
Roman arose to go ashore, Septimus (a Roman by birth), in sight 
of Cornelia, stabbed him in the back, and his body was thrown 
upon the sand. His freed man, who attended him, took up the 
body of his master, and, gathering together a scanty funeral-pile, 
burnt it to ashes, and buried them, with this inscription over the 
spot : " He whose merits deserve a temple, can now scarcely find a 
grave." Caesar soon landed in pursuit, when the head of his rival, 
which had been saved, was presented to him ; but he turned his 



358 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

face from it in horror, shedding tears on the remembrance of their 
former friendship. He ordered a splendid monument to be erected 
to his memory. ("Pompey's Pillar") 

Cleopatra, who aspired to undivided authority, and was in a 
quarrel with her brother, who was associated with her on the 
throne, invoked Caesar's aid to settle the question. By the aid 
of her personal charms, he was induced to decide in her favor. 
After the reduction of Egypt, during which Ptolemy was killed, 
Caesar, conqueror of the world, was conquered with the arts of 
love by the Egyptian Queen, and abandoned himself to pleasure 
with Cleopatra. He was however drawn from this reverie by the 
revolt of Pharnaces, son of Mithridates, who had seized upon Col- 
chis and Armenia. The ease with which he quelled this revolt was 
expressed in his message to the senate : " Veni, vidi, vici." — I came, 
I saw, I conquered. 

Caesar's presence was next called for in Pome, where Antony, his 
deputy, had caused disturbances which Caesar alone could quell. A 
strong party, adhering to Pompey's interests, was in arms, which 
Caesar soon reduced. No sooner was this done, than news came 
that Pompey's two sons, with Cato and Scipio, assisted by Juba, 
King of Mauritania, were in arms in Africa. Going thither, he soon 
overthrew them. 

Caesar now returned to Rome, master of the Empire, and almost 
of the world, 45 B. C, and celebrated ' a most magnificent triumph, 
which lasted four days ; the first for Gaul, the second for Egypt, 
the third for Asia, and the fourth for Africa. On this occasion he 
distributed liberally rewards to his veteran soldiers and officers, and 
to the citizens. He gratified the people with combats of elephants, 
and engagements between parties of cavalry and infantry, and 
entertained them at a public feast, where he placed twenty thousand 
couches for the guests. 

With these allurements, the people readily yielded up their liber- 
ties to the great Caesar. The people and senate vied with each 
other in acts of servility and adulation. He was hailed as father 
of his country, created perpetual dictator, and received the title of 
Imperator, or Emperor, and his person declared sacred. The state 
of affairs in Spain called for Caesar's presence there. Labienus and 
the two sons of Pompey had raised an army against him there ; 
these he completely defeated in the bloody and obstinate battle of 
Munda, which decided the fate of the adherents of his rival. 

With all that ambition could ask, and what many heroes had 
longed, fought, and died for, but never attained before, Caesar now 
returned to Pome. But no conqueror ever used power with such 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 359 

moderation and wisdom. In one of his speeches, he remarked : " I 
will not renew the massacres of Marius and Sylla, the very remem- 
brance of which is shocking to me. Now that my enemies are sub- 
dued, I will lay aside the sword, and endeavor, solely by my good 
offices, to gain over those who hate me." Without making any dis- 
tinctions between parties, friends, or enemies, he devoted himself to 
the prosperity and happiness of the people. He embellished the 
city, and made a variety of magnificent and useful improvements. 

But, alas! there is a summit to all things. The dizzy height 
to which Caesar had now attained was more difficult to keep than 
acquire. Though he had often refused the crown, when offered 
him by Mark Antony, yet he was accused of aiming to be king. 
The Romans could not endure the thought, that royalty should 
again be restored in Rome, nor that a conqueror should rule them 
with absolute sway. The circumstance that finally fixed in the 
minds and prejudices of his enemies that Caesar was inclined to roy- 
alty, was that of his not rising from his seat when the senate was 
conferring upon him some special honors. 

Immediately some sixty of the senators formed a conspiracy to 
deprive him of his life. A rumor got afloat that he was to have 
the crown conferred upon him on the Ides (fifteenth) of March, 
when they fixed upon that day to excute their vile design. A few 
friends, learning his danger, managed to convey a note of warning 
to him, by the great philosopher, Artemidorus ; but Caesar gave it, 
with other papers, to one of his secretaries, without reading it. 
(Like Archias, see page 311.) 

As soon as he had taken his seat in the senate-house, the conspir- 
ators drew near him, under pretence of saluting him. Cimber, one 
of them, pretending to sue for his brother's pardon, approached him 
in a suppliant posture, and so near as to take hold of the bottom 
of his robe, by which he was to prevent Caesar from rising. This 
was the signal agreed upon among the assassins. Casca, who was 
behind, stabbed him in the shoulder. Caesar immediately turned, 
and wounded him in the arm. By this time the others were in 
motion, and surrounded him with drawn daggers. He received a 
second stab in the breast, while Cassius wounded him in the face. 
He defended himself with vigor for a time, till on a sudden he dis- 
covered his former friend Brutus (whose life he had spared at the 
battle of Pharsalia), among the conspirators, and, seeing that he 
was betrayed, gave up in despair. After uttering the memorable 
sentence, "Et tu Brute" — And you too, Brutus! — he muffled up 
his face in his mantle, and fell, pierced with twenty-three wounds. 
Thus perished Julius Caesar, in his fifty-sixth year, having enjoyed 



3G0 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

only about five months the distinguished position it had been the 
object of his life to obtain. 44 B. C. 

His brilliant career, and tragic end, make him one of the most 
notable characters of antiquity. He appears in the three-fold char- 
acter of warrior, statesman, and historian. He is said to have cor- 
rected the calendar. The world has scarcely seen a more able or 
amiable despot. In passing a small village, on his way to Spain, 
before the triumvirate, he was heard to say, he " would rather be 
the first man in that village than the second man in Rome." He 
often repeated a favorite sentence from Euripides : " That if right 
and justice were ever to be violated, they were to be violated for 
the sake of reigning." 

Besides his great achievements on the battle-field, Caesar was 
reckoned the greatest orator in the world, next to Cicero ; set a 
pattern to all historians, which has never been excelled ; wrote 
learnedly on the sciences of grammar and augury ; and left, at the 
time of his premature death, memorials of his great plans for the 
extension of the empire, and of legislation for the world. In 
Caesar's triumph is represented the ascendency of the plebeian over 
the patrician faction of Rome. With his death ended the first 
triumvirate. 

Second Tetumvieate. — The end, or ends, sought by the sixty 
senators, which were their own aggrandizement, and the overthrow 
of their conqueror, were far from being realized by the death of 
Caesar. For upon the ruins of the first triumvirate arose a second, 
under whose iron rule Rome was enslaved, and the plebeianism of 
Romulus obtained the sway. And from this same date may we 
continue to reckon the decline of Rome; so that facts demonstrate 
that Romulus destroyed Rome. 

Caesar's bleeding body was carried to the Forum, and there ex- 
posed to the gaze of the people ; when Mark Antony delivered a 
most artful and exciting oration, while unfolding the bloody robe 
and showing them the great Caesar. The effect of this speech was 
to arouse the people against the conspirators, who were obliged to 
flee from the city to save their lives. 

Upon this the second triumvirate was formed, resembling in no 
slight degree the first. Antony, a man of great military talents 
(corresponding exactly to Pompey), Lepidus, immensely rich (like 
Crassus), and Octavius, another Caesar (adopted heir by Caesar, and 
his sister's grandson, now in his eighteenth year). In this concert 
of the supreme power, each of the triumvirs gave up such of his 
friends to the malice of the others as were demanded. Antony 
gave up his uncle Lucius ; Lepidus, his brother Paulus ; and Octa- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 361 

vius gave up the great Cicero, to gratify the hatred of Antony. He 
caused his head to be cut off, run through by the blade of a military 
spear, and the spear set up on end in public, — a spectacle which drew 
tears from the eyes of all virtuous citizens. Then followed another 
horrible proscription (like Sylla), when three hundred senators, two 
thousand knights, and many of the citizens were sacrificed. 

Two of the conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, had fled to Thrace, 
where they were at the head of an army of one hundred thousand 
men. Antony and Octavius pursued them with a still greater army, 
and in the battle that ensued at Philippi, they were victorious. 
Brutus and Cassius escaped captivity by voluntary deaths, — a 
measure they had mutually agreed upon beforehand. 

But the second triumvirs, like the first, did not long live in har- 
mony, each aspiring to undivided sway. Lepidus was soon deposed 
and banished. (Like Crassus, the rich one in each triumvirate was 
disposed of first.) Antony took his way into the East, and spent 
some time at Athens in philosophic retirement. After this, he 
passed from kingdom to kingdom, attended by a crowd of sover- 
eigns, exacting contributions, and giving away crowns, with " ca- 
pricious insolence." (So Pompey made a great figure in the East.) 
Octavius all this time was using, with consummate art, his wealth 
and talents to gain the favor of the people, with his eye on supreme 
power. (Like Caesar.) 

Antony having summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus, to answer the 
charge of aiding the conspirators against Caesar, she obeyed, and 
came, decked in all the emblems of a queen of love, in a galley 
decorated in the greatest splendor. With his royal and beautiful 
prisoner at the bar, Antony forgot his cause, being captivated with 
her charms. He forgot ambition and empire, and abandoned him- 
self to the pleasures of passion with the Egyptian queen. Octavius 
saw in this the presage of his ruin. 

On Cleopatra he lavished the provinces of Rome, for which he 
was declared an enemy to his country, which gave Octavius suffi- 
cient reason for declaring war against him. 

Like Pompey, Antony had married the sister of his associate in 
power; but she being divorced for Cleopatra,- — not dead like Julia, 
— this tie was broken between them, as between Pompey and Caesar. 
In the engagement which soon came on, near Actium, now called 
Nicopolis, Antony had one hundred thousand foot, twelve thousand 
horse, and five hundred ships of war; while Octavius had only 
eighty thousand foot, twelve thousand horse, and two hundred and 
fifty ships, but they were better manned and built. Only the 
navies of the two generals were engaged. The fate of the day 

46 



862 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

was decided by the flight of Cleopatra (who had joined Antony 
with sixty galleys of war), when Antony soon followed, and his 
soldiers submitted to Octavius. 

Octavius pursued him into Egypt. (As Caesar did Pompey.) An- 
tony, hearing that Cleopatra was dead, fell upon his own sword, and 
expired. (So, also, Pompey died in Egypt.) Octavius, like Caesar, 
was now left master of the world, with the title of Augustus Caesar, 
31 B. C. 

Cicero. — A few prominent men of these times, celebrated for 
learning, may be here introduced. It is not a little remarkable, that 
Demosthenes and Cicero, the two greatest orators of antiquity, 
lived, the one in the times of Philip and Alexander, the other in the 
times of Caesar and Octavius, — two as turbulent epochs, in civil 
matters, as are on record. 

Marcus Tullius Cicero was the father of Latin eloquence, and the 
greatest orator Rome ever produced. He was the son of a Roman 
knight ; and, showing promising abilities at an early age, his father 
procured for him the most celebrated masters of the times for his 
instructors. He served one campaign under Sylla, and returning 
to Rome, he appeared as a pleader at the bar, where the greatness 
of his genius, and his superior eloquence, soon raised him to notice. 

After passing through the minor honors of the state, he was 
chosen consul in the forty- third year of his age. To the wise and 
energetic administration of Cicero, belongs the honor of suppressing 
the conspiracy against Rome, under Catiline. After breaking up the 
foul plot, Cicero received the thanks of the people, and was styled 
the father of his country, and, with Romulus and Brutus (the first 
Roman consul), the third founder of Rome. Being opposed to 
the arbitrary measures of Caesar and Pompey, he was sent into 
banishment, but very unjustly. A law was enacted, that " whoever 
had condemned a Roman citizen without a trial, should himself be 
banished." This was made to apply to Cicero in his summary pro- 
ceedings against Catiline, and hence the baseness and ingratitude 
of the sentence. In vain did he remonstrate against the injustice 
of the sentence. He bore his exile with the greatest impatience. 

Pompey, finding his own popularity was on the decline, recalled 
Cicero, after sixteen months' time, to aid in propping up his sinking 
fortunes. This news of recall filled Cicero with the utmost joy. 
After much hesitation, he espoused the cause of Pompey, against 
Caesar. But after Caesar's victory at Pharsalia, he was reconciled 
to Cicero, and treated him with great humanity ; and still he coun- 
tenanced the murder of Caesar, and by so doing incurred the enmity 
of Antony, who wished to succeed in power. Upon the formation 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 363 

of the second triumvirate, in the proscription of friends agreed 
upon, Octavius labored two days to deliver Cicero from Antony's 
vengeance, but in vain. He gave him up at last. In attempting to 
escape, Cicero was overtaken by a party of soldiers, who cut off his 
head and right hand, and brought them to Antony: 43 B. C.,iE. 64. 

Cicero's foible was vanity. He sought not only to be the greatest 
orator of Rome, but to be thought the greatest jester also. His 
conduct was not always that of a patriot, and was frequently ac- 
cused of being cowardly. But as a statesman, an orator, a man of 
genius, and a scholar, he has few, if any, equals. 

Cato. — He also espoused the cause of Pompey, against Caesar. 
Fortifying himself in Utica, he thought of resisting Caesar ; but find- 
ing his followers irresolute, he died as many great (fools) Romans 
did. 

When he found it in vain to arouse his soldiers against Caesar, 
after supping cheerfully, he went into his bed-chamber, laid down and 
read with deep attention, for some time, Plato's dialogue on the 
Immortality of the Soul. Finding that his sword had been removed 
from the head of his bed, he began to make an ado among his domes- 
tics about it, when his son, who caused it to be removed, came for- 
ward and entreated him, with tears, to abandon his purpose ; but, 
receiving a severe reprimand, he yielded to his father's maddened 
wishes. 

His sword being at length handed him, he entered his room, and 
exclaimed : " Now am I master of myself! " He then took up the 
book, and read it twice over, and fell into a profound sleep. Upon 
waking, he made some inquiries about his friends, and shutting him- 
self up in his room alone, stabbed himself. The wound not being 
immediately mortal, with the most ferocious resolution he tore out 
his own bowels, and died as he had lived, a Stoic. 

Catullus. — He was a Roman epigrammatic poet. He directed 
his satire against Caesar, whose only revenge was to invite the poet, 
and hospitably entertain him at his own table. 

Sallust. — He is considered as the first philosophical historian. 
He gained some note as consul. He married Terentia, the divorced 
wife of Cicero, and hence the immortal hatred between the orator 
and the historian. Little remains of his writings, except his narra- 
tive of the conspiracy of Catiline, and the wars of Jugurtha. 

Vakro. — He is styled the most learned of the Romans. He 
wrote three hundred volumes, all of which are lost, except a treatise 
on De Re Rustica, and another, De Lingua Latina. The latter he 
wrote in his eightieth year, and dedicated it to Cicero. In the civil 
wars he was taken and proscribed by Caesar, but escaped. His 



S6i HISTORY OF EMPIRE/ 

erudition and extent of information were a matter of wonder and 
admiration to Cicero and St. Augustine. He died in his eighty- 
eighth year, 28 B. C. 

Cornelius Nepos. — He enjoyed the patronage of Augustus, and 
was an intimate friend of Cicero. He composed several works, but 
his lives of illustrious Greeks are all that remain. 

Virgil — Having lost his farms in the distribution of lands to 
the soldiers of Augustus, after the battle of Philippi, he repaired to 
Rome, where, through the influence of Mecaenas, he obtained an 
order for their restoration. Upon showing his order to the centu- 
rion who was in possession of them, he nearly killed Yirgil, who 
escaped only by swimming across a river. 

In his Bucolics, or Pastorals, he celebrates the praises of his illus- 
trious patrons. He undertook, in his Georgics, to encourage the 
study of agriculture. The design of his iEnead was to reconcile 
the Romans to a monarchical form of government. By his talents 
and virtues, he acquired the friendship of the Emperor Augustus, 
and of the most celebrated personages of his times. He died at 
Brundusium, aged 51, 19 B. C, and was buried near Naples, where 
his tomb is still to be seen. He is styled the prince of Roman poets. 

Horace. — The greatest of the Roman lyric poets. 

He was educated at Athens, attended Brutus to the civil wars, 
and fled from the battle of Philippi. Repairing to Rome, he begun 
writing verses, and there lived on terms of intimacy with Yirgil, 
Mecasnas, and Augustus. He died aged 57, 8 B. C. 

EOMAN EMPERORS. 

Augustus Caesar. — The commonwealth had now passed away, 
and the Republic of Rome was converted into an Empire. The 
patrician order was finally outdone, and the plebeian element gained 
the ascendency, despite all the intrigues of those who had all the 
wealth and blood of the nation on their side. Inequality of classes, 
before the civil power, must either give way to an equality, or the 
triumph of one party over the other, or the ruin of the nation. In 
the case of Rome, we see the triumph of one party over the other, 
and eventually the ruin of the whole. For although we see the 
triumph of the plebeian order in the Roman emperors, we also 
see the downfall of Rome, brought about by their profligacy and 
abuses. 

The battle of Actium, put Augustus Csesar at the head of the 
Empire, and master of the world. He was now in possession of 
Unioersal Empire, that mighty thing for which thousands had 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 865 

longed and bled, — seeking it on the battle-field, in senate-halls, and 
on the rostrum. Though ambitious of power, yet he was also aware 
of its dangers. For this reason he consulted Agrippa, one of his 
chief advisers, as to the policy best for him to pursue. His advice 
w T as, by all means to restore the liberties of the people. He next 
consulted Mecaenas, his prime minister, who advised him to govern 
others as he would wish to be governed, had it been his destiny to 
obey ; and further suggested, that under the title of Ccesar, he could 
enjoy all the influence of a king, without offending the prejudices 
of his countrymen. 

Augustus, like Rehoboam, accepted of that advice which was 
most congenial to his desires, and which he had it in his power 
to follow. Although his line of policy was fatal to liberty, yet the 
absolute restraint he exercised tended to general tranquillity. 

He claimed the title of emperor, to preserve his authority over 
the army ; caused himself to be created tribune, to quiet the peo- 
ple, and prince of the senate, so as to hold control over that body. 
In this way he managed to govern with absolute sway, under the 
names and forms of the republican constitution, which already lay 
prostrate at his feet. He cultivated familiarity with the people, and 
even appeared at the bar as an advocate. One of his veteran soldiers 
entreated his protection in a law-suit. He advised him to employ 
an advocate ; to which the soldier replied : " Ah ! it was not by 
proxy I served you at the battle of Actium." This reply so pleased 
the emperor, that he plead his cause in person, and gained it for 
him. 

Augustus cherished the arts of peace, embellished the city, erected 
public edifices, pursued the policy of maintaining order and tran- 
quillity throughout his vast empire ; so that the temple of Janus was 
again shut — for the first time since the second Punic War, and 
only the third time since the foundation of the city. The emperor, 
and Mecaenas his minister, were both patrons of learning and the 
arts, in an eminent degree ; so that this is celebrated as the Augus- 
tan Age of Roman Literature. Some of the characters who illus- 
trated this reign, were Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Livy. 

But the most august event of the Augustan Age was the birth of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

This event took place in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of 
Augustus Caesar, and four years before what is commonly termed 
the beginning of the Christian Era. 

Augustus was so affable as to return the salutations of all classes. 
A person one day approached him, with a petition, in a very crouch- 
ing posture, when the emperor reproved him for it, saying, " Friend, 



3G6 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

you seem as if you were offering something to an elephant, and not 
a man ; be bolder." 

Augustus was less happy in his domestic than in his imperial for- 
tunes. His wife Livia was an imperious woman, and controlled 
him at her pleasure. Her son Tiberius, by a former husband, so 
annoyed him by his obstinacy, that he banished him at a distance 
from Rome for five years. But his own daughter Julia, by a former 
wife, afflicted him more than all the rest, by her extremely immodest 
behavior. A favorite son of his was taken off, it is supposed by 
poison, lest he should supplant Tiberius. 

Augustus was often heard to say : " How happy should I have 
been, had I never had a wife or children ! " He died of dysentery, 
during an absence from Rome, at Nola, in the seventy-sixth year of 
his age, the forty-first of his reign, 14 A. C. 



III. 

AGE OF WAR FOB OPINION. 

EEOM AUGUSTUS CJ1SAK TO THE REF OEM AT 10 N. 

SUBJECT — CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD Y. PROM AUGUSTUS' DEATH, 4018 A. M., AND 14 A. C, TO THE END OP 
THE WESTERN EMPIRE, 4480 A. M., 476 A. C. 

It is worthy of notice, that the summit of Roman prosperity was 
the time selected by Providence for the advent of the Redeemer of 
men. Hence the universal Empire of Rome was made the vehicle 
for the early and almost universal spread of Christianity. The 
closing of the temple of Janus, because of a universal peace, was a 
delightful time for the Prince of Peace to introduce himself to the 
world, with the chant, " Glory to God in the highest ! Peace on 
earth, and good-will to men ! " 

Tiberius. — He was named in Augustus' will as his successor. 
He was son of Livia, by a former husband, and hence only step-son 
to Augustus. Tiberius inaugurated his reign with blood. Among 
the victims was the celebrated general Germanicus, at whose death 
the people indulged in unbounded grief. 

He then took into his confidence one Sejanus, a Roman knight, 
who persuaded him to remove from Rome to the island of Caprea^ 
where he indulged in the most infamous debaucheries. Sejanus so 
abused the power in his hands, that he was soon put to death by the 
senate, for his cruelties, and his body ignominiously dragged through 
the streets. 

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, occurred the 
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Small were the favors any virtuous 
cause received at the hands of this brutal emperor. 

At the age of sixty-seven he was quite bald in front ; his face 
was disgustingly ulcerated, and covered with plasters ; his body was 
bent forward, while its unnatural tallness and leanness increased its 
ugliness. He appointed two of his gluttons to the first posts in the 
empire, for sitting up with him two days and nights without sleep. 
The most eminent women of Rome were obliged to sacrifice their 
virtue and honor to the brute. 



3G8 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

His extreme jealousy prompted him to put to death distinguished 
citizens, upon the slightest pretences. At the place of execution, 
dead bodies, putrefying, lay heaped on each other, and friends were 
denied the privilege of weeping. Of certain senators he said, 
"Let them hate me, as long as they obey me." Cruelty and lust 
now characterized the Roman people. Death by wild beasts, and 
various tortures, formed a part of the entertainment at Roman fes- 
tivities. It gave Tiberius a burst of joy he was unable to repress, 
on finding that the Roman people and senate had sunk even below 
his own baseness. He is said to have been poisoned by one of his 
favorites, 37 A. C. 

Caligula. — He succeeded Tiberius ; was his grand-nephew, and 
son of Germanicus. His debaucheries need not be related, only 
that they exceeded, as far as possible, those of Tiberius. Old and 
infirm men, and poor decrepit house-keepers, he cast to the wild 
beasts, to relieve the state of such unserviceable citizens. 

He once wished " that all the Roman people had but one neck, 
that he might dispatch them at a single blow." He caused temples 
to be built, and sacrifices offered to him, as a god. He employed 
many inventions to imitate thunder. He built a stable of marble 
for his favorite horse Incitatus, with furniture to entertain his 
horse's visitors ; frequently invited his horse to his own table, and 
would have appointed him to the consulship, but death prevented. 
In one year's time, he squandered eighteen millions pounds sterling, 
left by Tiberius. In the fourth year of his reign, he was dispatched, 
through the influence of a tribune of the praetorian bands, 41 A. C. 
Seneca said of him : " He was an example of what could be pro- 
duced from the greatest vice, supported by the greatest authority." 

Claudius. — After the death of Caligula, the senate manifested 
a little desire to restore the liberties of Rome ; but the army pre- 
ferring an emperor, one was accordingly chosen. The choice fell 
upon Claudius, uncle of Caligula, grandson of Mark Antony and 
Octavia, the sister of Augustus. He is reported as below medioc- 
rity in talent, and so became the dupe of his attendants, especially 
of his profligate wife. Her, however, he put to death, with thirty- 
five senators, three hundred knights, and a vast many other citizens. 
Among others who perished, was Petus, who was condemned to 
die by his own hands. His loving wife attended him to the last ; 
and, seeing her husband was timid, she took the poniard and stabbed 
herself in his presence, and then handed it to him, saying, " It gives 
me no pain, my Petus." 

The most remarkable enterprise in the reign of Claudius, was the 
invasion of Britain, 43 A. C. He visited it in person, but left soon, 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 369 

and his generals, Plautius and Vespasian, continued the war with 
various success. 

Caractacus, the king, was taken prisoner, and carried to Rome ; 
and on beholding the magnificence of that city, exclaimed : " How 
is it possible that men possessed of such magnificence at home, 
should envy Caractacus a humble cottage in Britain ? " 

Claudius had five wives ; the fourth, Messalina, he put to death 
for her profligacy, when he married Agrippina, who was equally prac- 
tised in vice, and who poisoned him in the fourteenth year of his 
reign, and sixty-fourth of his age, to make way for her son Domi- 
tius iEnobarbus (Nero), by a former husband. Rome contained, at 
this time, the enormous and almost incredible number of seven 
millions of inhabitants ; and was sunk in the greatest effeminacy, 
luxury, and vice. 

Nero. — Like other Roman emperors, he at first put on a show 
of moderation and justice ; but no sooner did he begin to feel the 
strength of his position, than he began to show forth his depravity. 
He had the advantage of a good education, under the tuition of 
Seneca the philosopher, and with the wise counsel of Burrhus, pre- 
fect of the praetorian guards, he was put in a way to rule well. But 
he soon broke away from all these salutary restraints, and proved 
himself a Boman. 

Some one happening to say, in his presence, that the world might 
some day be burnt, he replied : " Nay, let it be burnt while I am 
living." So he caused the city to be set on fire, and, taking his posi- 
tion on a high tower, he indulged the sight with ferocious pleasure, 
imagining that the scene resembled the burning of Troy. In order 
to shield himself from the odium such an act would bring upon him, 
he charged the crime upon the Christians, and proceeded against 
them with as much rigor as though they were verily guilty of it. 
This was the first of the ten persecutions they suffered from the 
Roman emperors. It is supposed that Paul was beheaded, and 
Peter crucified, at this time. 

A conspiracy formed against him, by Piso, was detected, and for 
this Rome was nearly deluged with blood. Everything that a fierce 
soldiery could do, besides inducing children to destroy their parents, 
and slaves to revolt against their masters, was brought to bear on 
all whom he suspected. Crowds of innocent victims were daily led 
to the gates of the palace, to hear their doom from the lips of the 
tyrant. The reason for the endurance of all this cruelty by the 
Roman people, was the bribes paid the rabble, in corn, money, and 
raw flesh. The times of tyranny were golden days for them. 

A revolt of the Britons took place under Nero, in which seventy 

47 



d<U HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

thousand Romans were slain ; but they were in turn subdued, and 
eighty thousand Britons paid the penalty with their lives. A con- 
spiracy was at last formed against this more than brute monster, 
headed by Yindex in Gaul, and Galba in Spain. The senate having 
also passed sentence against him, he avoided falling into their hands 
by a voluntary death. Too cowardly, after all his brute ferocity, to 
kill himself, he died by the hand of a slave, aged thirty-two, after 
reigning fourteen years ; 69 A. C. 

Galba. — At the commencement of the revolt against Nero, 
Yindex proclaimed Galba emperor, and this was sanctioned after- 
wards by the senate and army. Compared with former emperors, 
Galba was deservedly esteemed ; and, with the exception of cruelty, 
he had fewer excessive faults than his predecessors. His adminis- 
tration was rendered unpopular, by his attempting to restrain the 
corruptions, and economize in the expenditures, of the state. Such 
changes, in those times, could not be brought about at once, without 
causing dissatisfaction in the minds of those who had been permit- 
ted to roll in lust and affluence, having former emperors for exam- 
ples, and their money freely spent for the indulgence of the people. 
For some disrespectful treatment towards him from a body of citi- 
zens, he ordered a troop of horse attending him to ride in among 
them, and seven thousand of them were killed. 

Instances of his parsimony are related. He is said to have 
groaned at having an expensive soup served up for him at his table. 
To a steward, for his fidelity, he one day presented a plate of beans. 
A famous flute-player, named Canus, having greatly delighted him, 
he drew his purse and gave him five pence, telling him it was pri- 
vate^ not public money. Through his love of money, notorious 
villains purchased their liberty. Seeking the good of the country, 
Galba nominated the virtuous Piso as his successor. This gave 
offence to Otho, who anticipated the nomination, and flew to arms. 
In the affray, both Galba and Piso were slain, after reigning only 
seven months. 

Otho — Being raised to the throne, and receiving the usual titles 
bestowed by the senate, he began his reign with several acts of 
mercy and justice. Otho's character improved after his promotion, 
— a circumstance of rare occurrence with the Roman emperors. In 
private life he was all that was detestable ; but when he became 
emperor, he was courageous, benevolent, and humane. 

Yitellius, who had been proclaimed emperor by his army in Ger- 
many, gave Otho battle, near Mantua, when the latter was defeated, 
and, in a fit of despair, like a Roman, stabbed himself, after holding 
the power he had wrested from Galba and Piso only ninety-five days. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 371 

Vitellius. — He came to the throne 69 A. C, and retained his 
usurpation only eight months. He chose Nero for his model. 
Going to visit a friend in a violent fever, he gave him poison in a 
cup of water, with his own hands, that he might obtain his friend's 
possessions. Those who had lent him money were put to death if 
they dared ask him for it, and then he took their estates. A Roman 
knight, upon being dragged to execution, cried, that he had made 
the emperor heir to his estate. Vitellius asked to seethe will; when 
he found another person mentioned also as heir, he caused them 
both to be executed, and took the whole. His favorite sin was 
gluttony. In order to be able to eat often and much, he acquired 
the habit of vomiting up his food, so as to be ready to take more. 
His entertainments were so expensive, that it was said, should he 
reign long, the whole empire would not be able to maintain his 
table. 

Vespasian, who was at the head of the Roman army in Egypt, 
being proclaimed emperor by his legions, entered Italy, and a great 
part of it submitted to him ; and even Vitellius meanly resigned 
the empire to him, to save his own life. Indignant at such coward- 
ice, the people compelled him to oppose Vespasian, by force ; but, 
falling into the hands of a party of the enemy, he was ingloriously 
put to death. " They that take the sword (by violence), must perish 
by the sword." 

Vespasian. — He having been declared emperor, by the unani- 
mous consent of the senate and army, was received at Rome with 
the greatest joy. He was not of noble birth, yet was far more noble, 
as emperor, than many of better blood, so called. He reigned ten 
years, with great popularity, and was distinguished for clemency, 
affability, and frugality. Avarice was his fault. It took some time 
to restore peace and security to the empire ; and when this was 
attained, he began to correct the abuses that had grown up under 
the tyrants. He restrained the licentiousness of the army ; degraded 
unworthy senators; shortened the tedious and dilatory process of 
justice, and extended his care to the whole empire. He built the 
celebrated amphitheatre, or Colosseum, whose ruins still attest its 
grandeur. He cherished the arts, and patronized learned men, — 
among whom were Josephus the Jewish historian, Quintilian the 
orator, and Pliny the naturalist. 

It was during the reign of Vespasian that the city of Jerusalem 
was destroyed, and the once favored people of God were blotted 
out as a nation. 

He is said to have died by disease — a very unusual occurrence 
with the emperors of Rome. Taken with indisposition at Campania, 



872 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

he said it would prove fatal ; but, in the spirit of a pagan, said, 
" Methinks I am going to be a god ! " He died supported in a stand- 
ing posture, thinking it most becoming for an emperor. 

Titus. — Titus succeeded to the empire upon the death of his 
father, 79 A. C. His character as a prince is represented as very 
humane, just, and generous. He so devoted himself to acts of benefi- 
cence, that, recollecting one evening that he had done none during 
the day, he exclaimed : " O, my friends ! I have lost a day ! " He 
obtained the enviable appellation of " The Delight of Mankind." 
He conducted the expedition against Jerusalem with as much clem- 
ency as the nature of war will admit. By his hand was the predic- 
tion of ruin against that doomed city and people executed. 

He is said to have relinquished the hand of his beloved Bernice, 
sister of King Agrippa, a woman of the greatest beauty and most 
refined allurements, because the connection displeased the Roman 
people, notwithstanding their mutual affection. He took upon him- 
self the office of high-priest, so as to keep his hands undefiled with 
blood, so tender was he of the lives of his subjects. He had a very 
happy disregard for censure and abuse. He said : " When I do 
nothing worthy of censure, why should I be displeased at it ? " 

In his reign Rome was three days on fire. He repaired the loss 
out of his own private resources. A plague also broke out, when 
ten thousand were buried in one day. In these distresses he acted 
as a father to his people ; — a more noble spirit than actuated Xero 
or Caligula. 

The eruption of Vesuvius occurred in his reign, in which Hercu- 
laneum and Pompeii were overwhelmed, and Pliny lost his life, by 
venturing too near the volcano. 

When Titus was taken ill, he retired to his father's house, in the 
country of the Sabines. There his indisposition was increased by a 
burning fever. Seeing that his end drew nigh, and being destitute 
of the hope the gospel inspires, he murmuringly complained of his 
fate, in being thus removed from the world, where he had been so 
well employed in making a grateful people happy. He died in the 
third year of his reign, and the forty-first of his age, and under 
strong suspicion of his being poisoned by his brother Domitian. 

Domitian. — He assumed the purple after the death of his 
brother, 81 A. C, and reigned fifteen years. The beginning of his 
reign promised fair for the continuance of the happiness of the 
Roman people. But his tyranny and ferocity were soon felt. He 
condemned to death the most illustrious Romans, and gazed upon 
their agonies with ferocious pleasure. He caused himself to be 
styled God and Lord^ in papers presented to him. He had some 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 373 

learning himself, but banished the philosophers from Rome. In his 
reign occurred the second general persecution of the Christians, in 
which forty thousand were destroyed. 

During his reign the Romans conquered the South part of Britain, 
under their general, Agricola, sent there by Vespasian. Domitian 
gained no renown for it, owing to his abuse of Agricola. 

He hated both the senate and nobility, frequently threatening 
to extirpate them all. He delighted in terrifying and ridiculing 
them. On one occasion, he invited the senate to a public entertain- 
ment. After receiving them at the entrance of his palace, they 
were conducted into a gloomy hall, hung with black, and lighted 
with a few glimmering tapers. Nothing was to be seen but coffins, 
with each senator's name thereon, and instruments of execution. 
While all were thus wrapped in silent agony, a body of men burst 
into the room, dressed in black, with drawn swords and flaming 
torches. After a fearful suspense, orders came from the emperor for 
the company to retire. At another time, he called a special meeting 
of the august body of the senate, to ask them in what kind of a 
vessel a turbot might be most conveniently cooked. The astrolo- 
gers having predicted his death, he was filled with tormenting in- 
quietude ; and, becoming more and more terrified by day and by 
night, in the same proportion he grew fierce and cruel. 

His wife Domitia, having accidentally discovered her name on a 
list with others who were to suffer death, she concerted with those 
whose doom was written, and, by hasty and well-devised plans, he 
was despatched at midnight, in one of the most secret recesses of 
his palace, where he had gone to rest. With Domitian ends what 
are called the " Twelve Caesars," beginning with Julius Caesar. 

Nerva. — He was chosen emperor by the senate, 96 A. C. He 
was the first Roman emperor of foreign extraction, being a Cretan. 
Being old, and of an easy disposition, he was unfit for a Roman 
emperor, but did quite an act in selecting a competent successor, 
after having reigned sixteen months. He made some feeble efforts 
at reform, in retrenchment of court expenses. 

Trajan. — He came to the throne in 98 A. C. He has been 
called one of Rome's best emperors. His virtues were, affability, 
simplicity of manners, clemency, and munificence. He was also 
called the greatest general of the age. In presenting a sword to the 
praetorian prefect, he charged him thus : "Make use of it for me, if 
I do my duty ; if not, against me." The senate surnamed him 
Optimus, or Best ; and for over two hundred years, the senate 
hailed every new emperor with the sentiment : " Reign fortunately 
as Augustus ! virtuously as Trajan ! " 



374 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

His first campaign was against the Dacians, whom he conquered, 
and reduced their territory to a Roman province. On his return, 
he entered the city in triumph, and the celebration of his victories 
lasted for one hundred and twenty days. He afterwards turned his 
arms eastward, and, after conquering Mesopotamia, Chaldea, Assyria, 
and Parthia, he sailed clown the Persian Gulf, and penetrated even 
into the Indies. The infirmities of age prevented his pushing con- 
quest to the " confines of the earth ; " and while preparing to return 
to Rome, in unparalleled magnificence, he died in the city of Seleu- 
cia, leaving, like Alexander, his vast dominion without nominating 
a successor, after reigning nineteen years. 

" Trajan's Pillar," still to be seen in Rome, was erected by the 
emperor himself. He was a patron of literature, and in his time 
flourished Pliny the younger, Juvenal, and Plutarch. But, with all 
his (Roman) virtues, he exhibited one infelicity during his reign — 
the slight circumstance of fostering that piece of pagan, bloody cru- 
elty, persecution against the Christians. The third general perse- 
cution of the ten, was under Trajan. 

Adrian. — He succeeded Trajan, 118 A. C. Trajan's wife forged 
a will, after the emperor's death, nominating Adrian, his nephew, as 
his successor. The nomination was seconded by the army, and so 
the matter was settled. 

Judging the empire to be too large, he abandoned the remote 
provinces, conquered by Trajan, and bounded it on the east by the 
river Euphrates. Still he was apt in military discipline, but he 
chose to cultivate the arts of peace, and promote the welfare of his 
subjects. He spent thirteen years in visiting all parts of the empire, 
dispensing peace, justice, and order, as he went. While in Britain, 
he caused a wall of earth and wood to be erected across the island, 
from Carlisle to Newcastle, to protect the Britons from the incur- 
sions of the Scots. 

The Jews, becoming exasperated at the privileges granted to the 
pagans and Christians, provoked the emperor to send an army into 
Judea, when one thousand of their best towns were destroyed, and 
nearly six hundred thousand men were slain. He then built a city 
on the site of Jerusalem, called Aelia Capitolina. 

He is said to have excelled all the Roman emperors in his acquire- 
ments, being an author, orator, mathematician, musician, and painter. 
His memory was so retentive, that he recollected every incident in 
his life, and knew all the soldiers of his army by name. (See Artax- 
erxes Mnemon, page 289.) He was the first emperor who wore a 
long beard, and that he did to cover the warts on his face. His 
successor adopted it as an ornament. As infirmity gained upon 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 375 

him, he often exclaimed: "How miserable a thing it is to seek 
death, and not be able to find it ! " Paganism is a comfortless frith ! 

Titus Antoninus Pius. — He succeeded to the empire 138 
A. C. His virtues caused him to be highly esteemed, and made him 
a blessing to mankind. His taste was for justice, peace, and clem- 
ency ; also a lover of the religion of his country. One of his favor- 
ite maxims was : " He would rather save the life of one citizen, than 
put to death a thousand enemies." Another, with reference to the 
Christians, was, that " Whoever molested them on account of their 
religion, should undergo the same punishment as was intended 
against the accused." 

He was a distinguished rewarder of learned men, whom he in- 
vited from all parts of the world, and raised to wealth and honor. 
Among them was Apollonius, the famous Stoic philosopher, whom 
he sent for to instruct his son-in-law Marcus Aurelius. Upon his 
arrival at Rome, the emperor desired his attendance ; but the Stoic 
replied, that " it was the business of the pupil to call upon the mas- 
ter, and not the master upon the pupil." Pius replied, with a smile, 
that " it was surjmsing how Apollonius, who had no difficulty in 
coming from Greece to Rome, should think it so hard to go from 
one part of Rome to another," and then sent Aurelius to him. Pius 
was taken ill in the midst of his labors, in rendering his subjects 
happy, and died in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and the twenty- 
third of his reign. 

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. — He ascended the throne 161 
A. C, and is considered a worthy successor of his father. He is 
esteemed as the best model of pagan virtue among the Roman em- 
perors; and "appeared like some benevolent deity, cliifusing around 
him peace and happiness." His attachment to the Stoic philosophy 
was ardent, and he embodied his views in a work called "Medi- 
tations." 

It is thought that the persecution of the Christians under the 
Antonines must be attributed to the pagan priests, rather than to 
the emperors. It is related, that while Aurelius was with the army, 
beyond the Danube, they were decoyed into a place where they 
could neither fight nor retreat. At this juncture, a legion of Chris- 
tians in the service began praying, and soon arose a refreshing 
shower that revived the thirsty and weary troops; and from the 
same cloud issued a fearful shower of hail upon the enemy, that so 
dismayed them that they became an easy prey to the Romans. (See 
page 69.) From this circumstance, the emperor immediately caused 
the persecution against the Christians to cease. To each of the 
Antonines Justin Martyr presented an " Apology for Christianity." 



376 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Aurelins was the last of the so-called " Five Good Emperors." From 
this time Koine declines' rapidly to its fall, through the reckless 
management of its rulers. 

Commodus. — He was son of Aurelius. His career was after the 
pattern of Nero, and Faustina his mother. History has it, that the 
most detestable of all emperors was son of the best. He came to 
the throne in 180 A. C. His amusements were in the circus, amphi- 
theatre, hunting wild beasts, boxing, and gladiator fights. His ad- 
ministration was weak, contemptible, and tyrannical. He spent the 
day feasting, and the night in debauchery. For sport, he would cut 
off men's noses, under pretence that he was shaving them ; but, 
through fear of his own throat being cut, he was obliged to be his 
own barber. 

In imitating Hercules, with his club and lion's skin, he would 
dress up a company of beggars like giants and monsters, and, giv- 
ing them sponges instead of stones to throw at him, he would furi- 
ously fall upon them and beat them to death. Marcia, his favorite 
concubine, finding her name among a list of victims whom he in- 
tended to destroy, conspired with others to assassinate him by 
poison and strangulation. 

Peetixax. — He, having been fixed upon as successor by the 
conspirators, was joyfully proclaimed by the praetorian guards, 193 
A. C. Applying himself with too much earnestness to the refor- 
mation of abuses, he alienated the affections of a corrupt people, 
and was deposed and murdered, by the same guards who put him 
upon the throne, in three months' time. 

Didius Juliaxus. — The empire having been put up at auction 
by the praetorian guards to the highest bidder, Didius bought it. 
He was a man of consular rank, and the richest citizen of Home. 
He gave to each of the guards a sum nearly equal to nine millions 
of dollars. 

At this time, several commanders in the distant provinces were 
proclaimed emperors by their respective forces, all of whom lost 
their lives but Septimus Severus. The confusion that ensued, and 
the various and perplexing counsels he received, so overwhelmed 
Didius, that he was unable to direct or control either them or him- 
self. The senate, seeing his irresolution, determined to set him 
aside, and declare for Severus. Didius plead that he ought to be 
permitted to enjoy what he had purchased during his natural life, 
as he had been convicted of no crime. But the executioners 
obliged him to stretch his neck forward, as the custom was, and 
immediately struck off his head. 

Septimus Seveeus. — He succeeded to the empire 193 A. C. He 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 877 

was an African by birth, ambitious, and despotic. His first act, 
even before he entered Rome, was the degradation of the prastorian 
guards, and their banishment one hundred miles from the city. They 
had taken too conspicuous a part in public affairs. 

The most terrible battle in Roman history, was fought between 
the forces of Albinus, a competitor of Severus, and the forces of 
the Empire. It lasted from morning till night, without cessation, 
with no decided advantage to either party, until a reserve came to 
the aid of Severus, and gave him the victory. He also signalized 
the Roman arms in the East, and returned in triumph to Rome. In 
his expedition into England, he built a stone wall, nearly parallel 
with that of Adrian, twelve feet high and eight broad, planted with 
towers, one mile apart, and communicating with each other by pipes 
of brass in the wall, which conveyed intelligence from one garri- 
son to another with incredible despatch. 

He now began to feel the weight of his cares and labors, and 
knew that his end drew nigh. But what most wore upon him, was 
the irreclaimable life of his son Caracalla. Calling for the urn in 
which his ashes were to be preserved, he addressed it thus : " Little 
urn ! thou shalt now contain what the world could not contain ! " 
Severus died at York, England, in the eighteenth year of his reign. 

Caracalla. — The empire was left to him and his brother Geta, 
— the latter mild, and the other fierce. Geta was soon despatched. 
He came to the throne in 211 A. C. He was assassinated, and so 
the world was freed of a monster, who was neither fit to govern an 
empire, nor fit to live, nor fit to die. 

Macrinus. — He instigated the death of Caracalla, and ascended 
the throne 217 A. C. He attempted a restraint upon the licentious- 
ness of the army, who became restive at the slightest correction. 
This circumstance was laid hold of by the grandmother of Helio- 
gabalus, and, by her artifices, she alienated the affections of the 
army from Macrinus ; and, in the struggle to retain his power, he lost 
his life. He reigned only fourteen months. 

Heliogabalus. — He was raised to the throne, upon the death of 
Macrinus, by the army, the people and senate concurring, when only 
fourteen years of age. He was the natural son of Caracalla; a 
beautiful youth, loved by the army, but of the Nero stamp. In 
four years he married six wives, and divorced them all. He even 
assumed the dress and circumstances of a woman, and married one 
of his officers. He afterwards married a slave, who beat him, to 
which he submitted meekly, saying : " A woman should submit to 
her husband." 

His supper generally cost six thousand crowns, and often sixty 
48 



378 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

thousand. He always dressed in cloth of gold and purple, enriched 
with precious stones, and never twice put on the same habit. He 
caused his path to be strewed with gold and silver dust, from his 
door to the place of mounting his horse. The poorest people were 
invited to his feasts, and being seated on bellows, full of air, they 
were suddenly emptied, and the people thereon dropped down 
among wild beasts, to be torn in pieces for his amusement. He 
undertook to foretell future events by the entrails of human victims, 
and for this purpose he sacrificed the most beautiful youths in Italy. 
At length, perceiving that the affections of the army were set upon 
his- successor, he meditated revenge. The soldiers, suspecting his 
intentions against them, watched him, caught him, and, having des- 
patched him, treated his body with indignity, and then threw it 
into the Tiber. What a Roman emperor! 

Alexander Severus. — He was cousin to Heliogabalus, and 
succeeded to the throne in 222 A. C. He became emperor at the 
age of sixteen, and was at that time possessed of premature wisdom 
of age : his judgment solid ; an excellent mathematician, geometri- 
cian, musician, painter, sculptor, and poet. The first part of his 
reign was spent in reforming the abuses of his predecessors, partic- 
ularly in restoring the senators to their rank and influence. In the 
tenth year of his reign, he conducted a victorious expedition against 
the Persians and Parthians, and, with several victories by his gen- 
erals in other parts, restored the limits of the empire. But this 
expansion of the declining strength of the nation rather hastened 
its fall. 

He lived on plain diet, faring like the common soldiers. He 
was at one time instructed by the famous Origen in the principles 
of Christianity; but no evidence is given that he embraced the 
gospel. He nevertheless loved good men, and reproved the lewd 
and infamous. A dispute once being referred to him, about a 
piece of ground which the Christians claimed for a place of public 
worship, and was claimed also by a company of grocery-men, he 
decided, that, " It is better that God be worshipped there, in any 
manner, than that the place should be put to the uses of drunken- 
ness and debauchery." This virtuous emperor was cut off, in the 
fourteenth year of his reign, and twenty-ninth of his age, by a 
mutiny among his own soldiers, instigated by Maximinius. 

JIaxlminius. — Having effected the death of Severus, he ascended 
the throne, 235 A. C. He was a son of a Thracian shepherd, and a 
man of gigantic stature and herculean strength, — being eight feet 
high, and perfectly symmetrical in form. Though possessed of some 
merit before his elevation to the throne, yet, after, he became brutal 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 379 

and ferocious. He warred with the Germans, converting hundreds 
of miles into a waste. He caused many noble Romans to be put 
to death, on suspicion that they despised him on account of his 
mean origin. 

When apprised of the acts of the senate, appointing others to 
the supreme power, he howled and raved like a wild beast, and beat 
his head against the walls of his palace. But he soon changed 
from these demonstrations to those of revenge. In this career he 
was soon stopped, being assassinated by his own soldiers while asleep 
in his tent, as he was too formidable to attack while awake. His 
strength was such, that he could break in the teeth of a horse with 
a blow of his fist, and break its thigh with a kick of his foot. This 
giant ate forty pounds of flesh, and drank six gallons of wine, every 
day. 

Balbinus and Pupienus. ■ — The senate next raised these two to 
the throne. But, being disliked by the praetorian guards, they were 
soon despatched ; and the guards, finding a grandson of Gordian, a 
former aspirant for the throne, they proclaimed him emperor. 

Gokdian. — He accordingly assumed the government, 238 A. C. 
He was only sixteen at this time, but possessed of some merit. 
The invasions of the Goths and Persians were repulsed by his arms. 

The discontent with his reign, which began to manifest itself about 
the time Philip, an Arabian, was chosen praetorian prefect, was cher- 
ished by the latter, until he thought it safe to venture upon the 
execution of Gordian. 

He reigned only six years. So fond was Gordian of learning, that 
he collected sixty-two thousand volumes in his private library. 

Philip. — From 244 A. C, he reigned five years, and was assassi- 
nated. 

Decius. — He began to reign 249 A. C. His activity and wisdom 
might have saved the empire, if human agency, in the hands of 
Providence, had been so used. But the profligacy and luxury or 
the times, the disputes between the pagans and the Christians, and 
the inroads of surrounding nations, were wasting the strength of 
the empire beyond recovery. 

In his reign was the seventh persecution of the Christians. Decius 
was cut off, in a war with the Goths, by the treachery of his general, 
Gallus, after reigning two years and a half. 

Gallus. — He was raised to the throne, 251 A. C, by the army. 
He reigned two years and four months. He was a vicious sovereign, 
and during his reign the empire suffered incalculable misery. In 
his reign a dreadful pestilence spread over the earth, threatening its 
depopulation. 



380 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Valerian. — He was commander of one of the armies, and suc- 
ceeded to the empire 254 A. C. In the early part of his reign he 
showed more favor to the Christians than had been done by any of 
the other emperors; but his treatment towards them suddenly 
changed, through the advice of unworthy favorites, and then began 
the eighth general persecution. 

Valerian was finally taken prisoner by Sapor, King of Persia. 
He used to make Valerian crouch down, so as to serve as a footstool 
for him to mount his horse. After serving a term of seven years 
prisoner, Valerian had his eyes put out ; he was then flayed alive, 
and rubbed with salt ; — a retributive death for a malignant perse- 
cutor. His skin was dyed red, and exposed in a temple. 

Galliexus — Son and successor of Valerian, came to the throne 
260 A. C. For a time he thought of revenge for his father's death, 
but soon forgot that, in his base pleasures and the interests of the 
empire, which was attacked without, and distracted within. Thirty 
pretenders arose at one time, contending for the dominion of the 
state. Gallienus died by violence. 

Flavius Claudius. — He was next invested with the purple, 268 
A. C, agreeably to the wishes of the army and the whole Roman 
people. The valor of his arms stayed a little the decline of the 
empire. Among his victories in the north, he destroyed an army 
of three hundred thousand men. He died a natural death, after 
reigning less than two years. 

Aureliax. — He was made emperor, by the army, 270 A. C. He 
was the most valiant commander of the age, and has been compared 
with Julius Caesar, for his military skill. Besides repelling the in- 
vasions of the north, he made a conquest in the east of Zenobia, 
Princess of Palmyra, called Queen of the East, whom he brought 
in triumph to Rome, bound in chains of gold, and overloaded with 
a profusion of pearls and diamonds. She had laid claim to the 
throne of Egypt, as an heir of the Ptolemies. 

In his reign occurred the ninth general persecution of the Chris- 
tians. On one occasion, in signing certain edicts against the Chris- 
tians, a thunderbolt fell so near him that his escape was almost 
miraculous, and deterred him from the act. He fell in a conspiracy 
raised by his subjects. 

Tacitus. — Several months elapsed before a new emperor was 
chosen. Tacitus at length consented, and began to reign 275 A. C. 
He died of a fever in six months after. 

Florian. — A minority of the army chose him, a brother of 
Tacitus, to succeed. But upon the establishment of Probus in the 
empire, Florian sought a voluntary death. He reigned two months. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 381 

Probus. — He was constantly engaged with the invaders of the 
north, and quelling the factions within the empire. He was gener- 
ally the first man to scale the walls of an enemy, and to burst into 
his tent. In a war with the Germans, he slew four hundred thou- 
sand men. Bonosus, who rebelled against him, was a great drunkard, 
and, being overcome, hanged himself in despair. Probus, seeing 
him shortly after, said : " There hangs, not a man, but a bottle." 
For obliging his soldiers to dig a trench, for draining purposes, they 
took offence, and slew him. 

Carus. — Being praetorian prefect to the deceased emperor, he 
was chosen to succeed him, 282 A. C. He associated with him his 
two sons, Carinus and Numerian. Carus was killed by lightning in 
his tent. 

Numerian. — He, through excess of weeping for his father's fate, 
was obliged to be carried in a close litter. In this situation, his 
ambitious father-in-law, Aper, slew him. 

Carinus. — He was slain in a contest with Diocletian, who had 
been chosen emperor. 

Diocletian. — He began his reign 284 A. C. In two years after, 
he associated with himself in the empire, his general, Maximian ; 
and in 292, they took two colleagues, Galerius and Constantius, each 
bearing the title of Caesar. So the government was now in the 
hands of four men, — two emperors, and two Ccesars, — Diocletian 
being the ruling spirit. Although Diocletian had no regard for 
religion, his wife and daughter cherished a secret regard for it, and 
many officers of court openly avowed it. 

Galerius was brought up by his mother (a bigoted pagan) to hate 
the Christians, as Hannibal was to hate the Romans, and he was no 
less true to his training. Constantius, being persuaded to displace 
all the Christian officers of his household, would not allow of their 
being persecuted ; and when some offered to renounce their religion, 
he rejected them, saying : "Those who were not true to their God, 
would never be faithful to their prince." All of these men, except 
Constantius, are represented as "monsters of horrible ferocity." 
Galerius, who is said to have exceeded the rest in cruelty, ensnared 
the prejudices of Diocletian against the Christians, and persuaded 
him to second his fiendish designs in persecuting them. Hence 
commenced the tenth and last general persecution, about 303, and 
continued, in some parts of the empire, for ten years. Except in 
France, where Constantius ruled, the persecution pervaded the 
whole Roman Empire, and in severity exceeded all that had gone 
before. The emperors who have the honor (!) of cherishing the 
" ten persecutions " of the Christians, were Nero, Domitian, Trajan, 



382 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Antoninus, Severus, Maximinius, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and 
Diocletian. 

Diocletian, while at the head of the Roman Empire, like Sylla, 
voluntarily abdicated the throne, 304 A. C, built a magnificent 
palace near Salona, where he amused himself in cultivating his 
garden. He was often heard to say, that he enjoyed this mode of 
life better than to wear the purple of Rome. " Now it is that I 
live ; now I see the beauty of the sun." (See like instances in 
Sylla, page 350 ; Cincinnatus, page 337, and So, page 293.) He died 
312 A. C. Maximian perished 310 A. C. 

Constantius died in York, England, 306 A. C, leaving his son 
Constantine as his successor. Galerius died four years after, of a 
terrible and incurable disease. 

Constantine. — He, being proclaimed emperor, 306 A. C, had 
to meet with a little competition. Maxentius, son of Maximian, 
had proclaimed himself; and in 307, Galerius, who was always slow 
to acknowledge Constantine, had proclaimed Licinius. In marching 
to meet Maxentius in battle, it is said that Constantine saw a pillar 
of light in the heavens, in the form of a cross, with the inscription 
on it : " Conquer by this/" 

In consequence of this impressive sight, he caused a royal standard 
to be made, with the insignia of a cross upon it, and to be carried 
before him in his wars. He soon after espoused the cause of Chris- 
tianity. Entering Italy, he routed the forces of his rival, and in 
making his escape, Maxentius fell into the Tiber, and was drowned. 
In 314, a war broke out between Constantine and Licinius, which 
soon ended in a peace. But in nine years after, hostilities were 
again commenced, when Licinius was compelled to abdicate, leaving 
Constantine sole master of the Roman world. 

Constantine, more than all other men before him, and for a long 
time after, changed the tide of human affairs. Rome had for many 
years been tottering to its fall, and its crumbling rottenness was 
only held together by the mighty bands of despotic power. Con- 
stantine cut those bands in sunder, and hence hastened the fill of 
Rome. The Roman armies had become filled up with aliens from 
the surrounding nations; and Constantine, to prevent mutinies among 
the soldiers, reduced the size of the legion from five thousand to one 
thousand, or fifteen hundred. This measure, while it might prevent 
mutiny, so weakened the Roman forces, that they were easily re- 
pulsed by the invasions of the North. Another bold stroke by Con- 
stantine, was the change of the gods of the nation. Christianity, 
which had hitherto been persecuted to the death by paganism, he 
made the religion of the state, and prohibited both persecution and 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 383 

even the exercise of pagan rites. The operation of this change in 
the religious world, is traced in the History of Religion, which see, 
page 187, etc. 

Another very important change introduced by Constantine, was 
the removal of the seat of empire from Rome to Byzantium. He 
had made choice of Chalcedon, in Asia Minor, for the new capital ; 
but in laying out the ground-plot for the new city, an eagle caught 
up the measuring-line, and flew across the Bosphorus, over the city 
of Byzantium. This led him to change his plan, and select the 
latter place for his new seat of empire. After having built a capitol, 
an amphitheatre, many churches, magnificent edifices, and public 
works, giving it the name of Constantinople, after himself, he then 
dedicated it to the God of Martyrs, and removed there with his 
whole court. 

Thus, by changing the religion of the Empire, and the seat of 
government, he dealt the mortal wound to both pagan and imperial 
Rome. In an expedition against the Persians, Constantine died, at 
Nicomedia, in the thirtieth year of his reign, and the sixty-third of 
his age. 

Constantius. — Before his death, Constantine divided the Empire 
between his three sons, Constantine II., Constans, and Constantius 
II., and two nephews, who were named Caesars. Their reign began 
337 A. C. Soon after coming into power, Constantius found means 
to destroy the two Caesars, with five others of his cousins, and two 
of his uncles. Shortly after this, Constantine and Constans quar- 
relled, and the former was killed. In a few years more, Constans 
was killed, while quelling a revolt among his subjects, which left 
Constantius sovereign of the whole empire. He was much engaged 
in theological controversy, but to little purpose. 

At first, he caused the Persians to retire before him, but finally 
they beat him back in nine signal battles. Constantius created 
his cousin Julian, Caesar, but afterwards regarding him with jealousy, 
and hearing that he had been proclaimed emperor, marched against 
him, but died on the way, aged forty-five. 

Julian. — The senate recognized him, in 361, as emperor. He 
had been previously proclaimed by his soldiers, much against his 
will ; but, upon being required to submit himself to Constantius, as 
supreme head, he resolved upon maintaining his dignity by arms. 
The death of the former ended the strife. 

He is called the "Apostate? for rejecting his Christian education, 
and restoring the worship and functions of pagan superstitions; 
reopening the heathen temples, and giving paganism the favor of 
the state ; he removed the Christians from all offices of the state, and 



884 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

refused them the benefits of the laws. He employed his pen and 
wit in ridiculing the Christian religion, — satire being his taste. In 
363, he attempted to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, for the pur- 
pose of contradicting prophecy, and so furnish a standing argument 
against the truth of Revelation. The blasphemous attempt was 
defeated by the eruption of fire from the earth, which drove the 
workmen from the mad design, which leaves Revelation true, and 
Julian a liar. 

His " Caesars," is the most famous of all his compositions, being a 
satire on all the Roman emperors, from Julius Caesar to Constantine. 
Gibbon calls it "one of the most agreeable and instructive produc- 
tions of ancient wit." 

In the year 363, while pursuing a routed Persian army, he received 
a mortal wound. In conversation with a philosopher, in his last 
moments, he expressed his expectation of being united with heaven 
and with the stars. Upon the death of Julian, the race of Constan- 
tinus Clorus became extinct, and the Roman world was without a 
head, and without an heir. 

Joviax. — In this situation, the army finally fixed upon Jovian, a 
Pannonian, as his successor, 363 A. C. He made peace with the 
Persians, rather as a matter of necessity, as well as policy, by the 
cession of five provinces. He sought to restore tranquillity to the 
church, by displaying the banner of the cross, and reversing the 
edicts of Julian against Christianity. 

While on a march to rescue the palace of Constantine, his wife 
hastened with an imperial train to meet him, carrying their infant 
son ; and while the happy moment of embracing her husband seemed 
just at hand, the heavy news of his sudden death, by suffocation 
from charcoal, quickly turned her hour of joy into one of grief. He 
reigned only seven months ; during which time he recalled Athana- 
sius, who had fled before Julian. 

Valentinian I. — He was made emperor, by the army, 364 A. C. 
In one month after, he associated with himself in the empire his 
brother Valens, to whom he gave the eastern provinces. From this 
time the empire was divided into Eastern and Western, though still 
considered as one body. The main business of the emperor now 
was, in repelling the invasions from the North, in which he was 
successful. 

He favored the Christian religion, and his domestic administra- 
tion was equitable and wise. 

He died, in an expedition against the Alemanni, 367 A. C. Being 
successful against them, they sent ambassadors to sue for peace. 
Their policy had been such, however, as to provoke the emperor 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 385 

beyond endurance ; and in the interview with them, his anger rose 
to such a pitch, and his tones and gestures were so violent, that he 
ruptured a blood-vessel, and expired on the spot. 

Gratian. — He was son of Valentinian, and came to the throne 
in 367 A. C. Valens still presided in the east — only as an associate, 
however. In 376, he permitted vast hordes of the Goths, who had 
been driven from their country by the Huns, to settle in Thrace. 
They soon fell to plundering the country, given them as an asylum, 
when Valens marched to oppose them. He was defeated in the 
famous battle of Adrianople, two thirds of his army being cut to 
pieces. Valens was also mortally wounded, and after being carried 
into a cottage near by, it was set on fire and burnt by the Goths, 
they not knowing that it contained the Emperor of the East. The 
death of Valens left Gratian at the head of the whole empire, when 
he took Theodosius as associate and Emperor of the East. 

Gratian undertook to destroy the remains of paganism, and about 
the same time there was a severe famine in Rome. This was ascribed 
by the pagans to the gods, as a judgment upon the nation for the 
destruction of idolatry; and a general belief of that delusion stirred 
up a general dissatisfaction. Maximius, who commanded at that 
time in Britain, took advantage of this disturbance, by causing him- 
self to be proclaimed emperor. Gratian, marching into Gaul to 
oppose him, was deserted by his soldiers, and killed, at Lyons, 
371 A. C. 

Valentinian II. — He was the lawful successor of his brother 
Gratian ; but, being dispossessed by Maximius, he threw himself upon 
the protection of Theodosius in the east, who restored him to his 
throne. After wearing the crown for several years, he was strangled 
by a Goth, named Arbogastus, 392 A. C, who, after destroying 
Valentinian, proclaimed Eugenius as his successor. 

Theodosius. — Having defeated and slain Eugenius, he succeeded 
to the whole empire, 379 A. C. He was the first Emperor of the 
East who succeeded to the Empire, and the last who presided over 
both the east and west. 

In his reign, the finishing work of destroying paganism was done. 
First, by a grand council, he established the Nicene Creed as the 
standard of orthodoxy. Then an edict was issued, prohibiting all 
meetings of heretics, under the severest penalties. In 390, an edict 
was issued, prohibiting the worship of any inanimate idol, or the 
sacrifice of any victim thereto, on pain of death. " Upon this," says 
Gibbon, " so rapid, and yet so gentle, was the fall of it, that only 
twenty-eight years after the death of Theodosius, its faint and minute 
vestiges were no longer visible to the eye of the legislator." 

49 



386 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Previous to his decease, he divided the Empire between his two 
sons, assigning the west to Honorius, and the east toArcadius. This 
division of the empire so weakened it, that it became a much easier 
prey to the hordes of the North, that poured down upon the empire 
like swarms of bees, for multitude. The names of these formidable 
tribes, bordering on the north of the Roman Empire, were Huns, a 
tribe that emigrated west from the north borders of China ; Alains, 
an Asiatic tribe ; Vandals, came from Scandinavia, now Sweden ; 
Goths, from the same ; Visigoths, were West-Goths ; Ostrogoths, 
were East-Goths; the Heruli were emigrants from Sweden. 

Honorius. — Stilicho, a famous warrior, had been appointed min- 
ister to Honorius during the minority of the latter, and did him 
great service in repelling the Goths. Alaric, their king, had spread 
his devastations to the walls of Constantinople, filled Greece with 
the terror of his arms, and then penetrated into Italy with a large 
army, where he was defeated by the Romans, under Stilicho. 

Stilicho having become the object of jealousy among his rivals, 
Honorius basely caused him to be beheaded. 

Soon after this event, Alaric again invaded Italy, with three 
hundred thousand men, and carried his conquest to the very gates 
of Rome. He was only prevented from razing it to the ground, by 
the promise of enormous sums of gold and silver, and an incredible 
number of precious articles. These conditions not being fulfilled, 
Alaric became indignant, and the work of sacking Rome began in 
earnest. After hedging them in on all sides, famine set in with all 
its horrors (when human flesh was sold in the market), to do what 
Gothic arms could not do. What such means failed to do, treachery 
accomplished, so that the besiegers were triumphant. A Roman 
sentinel opened the Salarian gate at midnight, when the inhabitants 
of Rome were aroused by the tremendous sound of the Gothic 
trumpet. 

This mighty city (which had not been visited by an invading army 
for over six hundred years, during which time she had sat mistress 
of the world, and had gathered into her treasures and magnificence, 
the riches of all nations) now lay at the feet of the Gothic king, who 
said to his soldiers : " All the riches of the world are here concen- 
trated : to you I abandon them ; but I command you to spill the 
blood of none but those you find in arms, and to spare such as take 
refuge in churches." The pillage lasted for six days. Alaric died 
soon after, of a short illness. 

Instead of rail vino- to recover his losses, Honorius entered into a 
treaty with Ataulfus, Alaric's successor, by giving him his sister 
Placidia in marriage, and ceding to him a portion of Spain. By 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 387 

this and other similar acts, Honorius hastened the destruction of the 
Empire. He died 422 A. C. 

Valejntinian III. — He was crowned emperor in 424 A. C, and 
was seven months an associate with Honorius. The revolt of Count 
Boniface in Africa, took that country away from Rome. Resisting 
the army first sent against him, under iEtius, he feared his ability to 
do it the second time, and so invited to his assistance Genseric, King 
of the Vandals. He readily went to Boniface's assistance, and, after 
defeating the Romans, took possession of the country himself, and 
held it. 

The Huns, under Attila their king, overran nearly all the northern 
provinces, and soon after invaded Gaul, with an army of five hundred 
thousand men, threatening the destruction of the empire. The 
Romans, under JEtius ("The Last of the Romans"), met this host 
on the plains of Chalons, when the Huns were defeated, with a loss 
of one hundred and sixty thousand men. Attila soon rallied again, 
and invaded Italy, marched to the gates of Rome, wherein he shut 
up Valentinian, who was obliged to purchase a peace with an immense 
dowry, and giving his sister Honoria to Attila in marriage. This 
" scourge of God " died soon after. 

It is said the body of Attila was enclosed in three coffins, — the first 
of gold, the second of silver, the third of iron, — and that the men 
who dug his grave were put to death, lest his place of burial should 
be revealed. 

^Etius, who had done so much for his country, was made an object 
of jealousy by Heraclius the eunuch, and Valentinian stabbed him 
with his own hand. The next year the emperor himself was assas- 
sinated. 

Maximtts. — He instigated the murder of Valentinian, and was 
raised to the throne 455 A. C. His excuse for this was (pretended 
or real), revenge for the dishonor Valentinian cast upon his wife. 
He married Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, to whom he 
imprudently revealed his guilt in the murder of the emperor. To 
revenge this deed, she called in Genseric, King of the Vandals. 
Upon his arrival in Italy, Maximus fled, and, for his cowardice, his 
people stoned him to death. 

Eudoxia found Genseric no more agreeable company than Max- 
imus. After responding to her call, he concluded to stop and help 
himself, as he did when Boniface asked him into Africa to help him. 
After taking Rome, and giving it up to pillage for several days, he 
took Eudoxia and her two daughters back with him in triumph to 
Carthage. 

Avitus. — He was proclaimed in Gaul, by his troops. Having 



388 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

made Riciraer, a senator, general of his armies, the latter soon after 
entered into a conspiracy against his benefactor, whom he arrested 
and deposed, and who soon after died, while on his way to Italy, 
457 A. C. 

Majorian. — He was next proclaimed after the deposition of Avitus. 
He made an unsuccessful attempt against the Vandals in Africa. 
Gaining a reputation for wisdom and virtue, by publishing some good 
laws, Ricimer was jealous of him, and so deposed and slew him, 
461 A. C. 

Severus. — He was created emperor by Ricimer himself, who 
governed under him. Getting sick of that, he found it convenient, 
after four years, to poison the nominal master of himself and the 
empire. 

Athemius. — He was called to the empire, by the united suffrages 
of the senate, the army, and the people, 467 A. C. In order to 
attach Ricimer to his interest, as he had become formidable, he gave 
him his daughter in marriage. 

Ricimer soon found occasion to quarrel with his father-in-law, 
besieged and pillaged Rome, during which the emperor was mur- 
dered. 

Oltbrius. — He was sent w ? ith an army, by Leo, Emperor of the 
East, to assist Athemius against Ricimer ; but he was seduced by 
Ricimer to assist him rather, and was proclaimed emperor, but died 
three months after, 472 A. C. Thus Ricimer disposed summarily of 
five emperors. 

Julius Nepos. — Glycerus, an obscure soldier, aided by a Bur- 
gundian prince, assumed the title of Emperor, at Ravenna ; but Leo 
had conferred it upon Julius Nepos, who took Glycerus prisoner, and 
had him consecrated Bishop of Salona, 473. 

Julius Nepos was proclaimed at Rome, in 474. The next year, 
Orestes, a Panonian, whom he sent into Gaul, revolted and besieged 
the emperor in Ravenna. Nepos escaped into Dalmatia, where, in 
five years, he was assassinated. 

Romulus Augustulus. — He, son of Orestes, was made emperor 
by his father. After a reign of eleven months, he was taken prisoner 
by Odoacer, chief of the Heruli, who assumed the title of King of 
Italy, 476 A. C. Augustulus was sent into Campania, where he 
lived privately, in splendor. 

Thus ends the Western Empire of Rome. A little fanciful, that 
the last emperor of Rome, should adopt both the names of the first 
king of Rome and the first emperor of Rome. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 389 



PERIOD YI. FROM THE END OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE, 4480 A. M., AND 476 
A. C, TO THE END OF THE EASTERN, 5457 A. M., AND 1453 A. C. 

The history of the Eastern Empire will be traced very briefly, 
since it, as well as most of the nations of the East, has but little 
interest, so far as pertains to the design of this work. 

Arcadius. — He was son of Theodosius, the last sovereign of the 
East and West, hence brother of Honorius, the first emperor of the 
Western Roman Empire, and himself the first emperor of the Eastern 
Roman Empire. 

Justinian I. — He was the eighth Emperor of the East. The 
Eastern Empire was at its zenith during his reign, and hence he is 
surnamed the Great. He published a code of laivs^ prepared by an 
eminent lawyer of that age, named Tribonian. That code is said to 
be the foundation of the jurisprudence of modern Europe. The 
" Laws of Solon," the " Laws of the Twelve Tables," and the " Laws 
of Tribonian," form distinct epochs in the history of jurisprudence 
among the ancients. Justinian built the church of St. Sophia, now 
a Mohammedan mosque. 

The greatest injustice done by this emperor was, his ungrateful 
treatment to Belisarius, his general. On the plains of Dara he de- 
feated the Persians, with great slaughter, in three sanguinary battles, 
in different years. In a riot between two factions in Constantinople, 
Justinian was about to flee for safety, when Belisarius appeared for 
his relief, with a body of veteran soldiers. These he led against the 
populace, and it is computed that not less than thirty thousand per- 
sons perished in the carnage. In an expedition against the Vandals 
in Africa, Belisarius was victorious. But Justinian, being jealous of 
him, recalled him ; but his victories and prompt obedience secured 
him a triumph. He was popular all the time the emperor was 
abusing him. 

In 537 Belisarius was sent into Italy, against the Goths. Upon 
hearing of his approach, the Gothic king retired, showing no resist- 
ance. Belisarius nearly revived the ancient fame of the Roman 
arms. The retreat of the Goths proved to be only a respite, as their 
king soon attacked Rome with a hundred thousand warriors. Beli- 
sarius, however, met him, and turned him back, after a siege against 
Rome, and finally drove him from the country. No sooner was this 
done than the emperor recalled him to Constantinople, and, though 
deprived of a triumph, the favor of the people was equal to one. 

Belisarius was again sent to the East, and saved it by his arms. 

Italy being again overrun by the brave Totila, Belisarius was 
again sent thither, and as soon as the prospect of driving the Gothic 



390 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

king was flattering, he was called off to some less important war, as 
a disgrace, and superseded in his command by N arses. The declin- 
ing years of this great general were spent in Constantinople, and 
even at that late period he saved the ungrateful Justinian and his 
capital from the ravages of the Bulgarians. In extreme old age, he 
suffered for the comforts of life; for a time, from the false imputation 
of conspiracy. (Well might the emperor fear him, — he ought to.) 

Phocas. — He seated himself upon the throne 602 A. C, and was 
the twelfth Emperor of the East. A revolt of the army occurring, 
Phocas was proclaimed emperor beyond the Danube, when he 
marched to Constantinople. Taking Maurice, the emperor, prisoner, 
he caused his five sons to be murdered before his eyes, when the 
tragic scene closed with the execution of the emperor himself, foiling 
upon the dead bodies of his children. Phocas' cruelty towards the 
family of his predecessor, ended with the murder of the innocent 
Empress Constantia, and her three daughters, at the same place where 
her husband and sons suffered three years before. 

To him also belongs the distinction of robbing John, Bishop of 
Constantinople, of his assumed title of Universal Bishop, and con- 
ferring it upon the court sycophant, Boniface III., of Rome; and at 
the same time declaring the " Church of Rome to be the head of all 
other churches^ — 606 A. C. 

At last, Heraclius Governor of Egypt, sent his son against Phocas, 
with a fleet ; and, upon his arrival at Constantinople, the cruel Phocas 
was forsaken of his people, beheaded, and his body treated with the 
greatest indignity. 

Constantine III. — He was the fourteenth Emperor of the East, 
672 A. C. ; and during his reign, the Saracens, or Mohammedans, 
besieged Constantinople for seven months, but were obliged to 
retire. But, though defeated, they returned every year for seven 
years in succession, and were every time repulsed by Calinicus, who 
invented an inextinguishable fire, by which he destroyed their ships. 

The Greek, or liquid fire, was composed of naphtha, or liquid bitu- 
men, mixed with sulphur, and pitch taken from green firs. Water, 
instead of extinguishing, quickened this powerful agent of destruc- 
tion. It could only be damped by sand, wine, or vinegar. It 
remained a secret with the Greeks for four hundred years, when the 
Mohammedans finally discovered and stole it. It was used in war 
down to the middle of the fourteenth century, when gunpowder 
took its place. The "Greek liquid fire" was a step in advance of 
Archimedes' "burning-glasses," in destructive implements of war. 

The Eastern Empire was ruled by some thirty-nine emperors, from 
Constantine III. to the eleventh century. The magnificence of their 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 391 

palaces, scattered upon the coasts and islands of Asia and Europe, 
and the splendor and luxury in which they lived, had no small at- 
tractions to the envious potentates round about. Italy was swept 
away by the Normans, and the Turks had knocked out many of the 
Asiatic props of the Empire. Still, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, 
Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, and the fifty islands of the Archipelago, were 
within its limits. Finally Constantinople was taken by the crusaders, 
and held in their possession for sixty odd years, during which time 
the Greek emperors made Nice the seat of their power. 

Micelel Paljeologus. — In 1261, this man was found possessed of 
the requisite ambition and ability to retake Constantinople from its 
Latin conquerors, and restore it to the successors of Constantine. It 
continued to drag on a precarious existence until 1453, when it was 
taken by the Turks. 

Constantine XII. — He was the last Roman emperor, when Con- 
stantinople was besieged by Mohammed II., at the head of three 
hundred thousand Turks. At this time it was attacked with cannon, 
; — not " liquid fire," but fire and brimstone. This event put an end 
to the Eastern, and so to the whole of the Roman Empire; and thus 
the might of the great Caesars was brought to nought. 

From Janus to Constantine XII. the Empire had lasted, during 
all its changes and disasters, two thousand seven hundred years, 
— the greatest length of time of any empire on record. 

"DAEK AGES." 

From the seventh to the fourteenth century is the time usually 
called the " Dark Ages." They are so called, from the general prev- 
alence of superstition and oppression. 

The ruling influences in both Church and State were averse to 
civil and religious liberty ; and hence the dark, leaden, iron, horrid 
character of those times. 

CRUSADES. 

One enterprise (if it be worthy of the name) was the Crusades, 
or Holy Wars, so called. The occasion of these eurse-ades (more 
properly called) was as follows. It became a matter of great import- 
ance to the Papal Church, to encourage its votaries to go on pilgrim- 
ages to Jerusalem, for the purpose of visiting the tomb of Christ, 
and other places of religious interest in Palestine. While the Sara- 
cens, or Mohammedans, retained the control of the country, the 
" Christians" (?) were permitted to go unmolested on their pilgrim- 
ages to the Holy Land. 



892 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

When the Turks got possession of Jerusalem in 1065, the pil- 
grims were no longer safe, but exposed to insult and robbery. 
This aroused the Christian powers of Europe to wrest the Holy 
Land from the grasp of the infidels. Vast and imposing armies were 
raised by Peter the Hermit, and sent on this pious errand ; and for 
years an untold amount of suffering, blood, and treasure were ex- 
pended, and all in vain, as the effort had to be abandoned, and the 
holy places even yet remain in the possession of the infidels. The 
Saracen, or Mohammedan Empire, merged into the Turkish upon the 
taking of Bagdad, its capital, by the Turks, in 1258. 

The Saracens, more than any other nation of these times, encour- 
aged literature. The reign of Haroun al Raschid, the twenty-fifth 
caliph, who was contemporary with Charlemagne, was termed the 
Augustan Age of Saracen, or Arabic, Literature. He is said to have 
been the author of the " Thousand and One Nights," or "Arabian 
Nights." 

Much as the Saracens encouraged literature, they nevertheless 
robbed the world of more than they furnished in that department. 
During the reign of Omar, from 633 to 645, he ordered the destruc- 
tion of the Alexandrian Library, consisting of seven hundred thou- 
sand volumes, for the following reason, which he gave his general, 
Amrou, in his order for its destruction. Said he : " If these writings 
agree with the Koran, they are useless, and need not be preserved ; 
if they disagree with it, they are pernicious, and ought to be 
destroyed." 

Possibly the world at large would be as well satisfied had the 
Koran been burnt, and the Alexandrian Library preserved, as they 
are with the reverse. 

FEUDALISM. 

This was another element of society in the Middle, or Dark Ages, 
which had no small influence over the minds and affairs of the 
nation. It had its origin among the Goths, Vandals, Huns, Lom- 
bards, etc., that held sway in Europe on the fall of the Roman 
Empire. It was adopted by Charlemagne, most of the princes 
of Europe, and introduced into England by "William the " Con- 
queror," so called. The relics of the system are still seen in the 
condition of the lands there at the present day, held by lords and 
tenants. 

It was the very opposite of the plan pursued by the nobility of 
Rome, who icithheld the public lands from the plebeians, who did 
the fighting, but lost the spoils. A feudal chieftain, who led out his 
legions, would, on the conquest of a country, make division of it into 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 393 

lots, on condition of rendering him military service upon demand. 
He first took the lion's share for himself, and then distributed the 
rest among his whelps, or captains, giving them portions of various 
sizes, as towns, or counties, which they distributed on the same con- 
ditions (of military service) to the lower animals, or serfs, or villaifis, 
as they were actually called. Thus a feudal kingdom became a mili- 
tary establishment — a victorious army encamped, under its officers, 
all over the conquered territory, — every captain, or baron, inde- 
pendent of his sovereign, except in time of war, and then every man 
and officer is sworn to support his feudal lord. 

These lords came at length not only to oppress the people at times, 
but were often, by their immense numbers, and their strong for- 
tresses and castles, in a condition to defy the authority of the civil 
magistracy, and even the crown itself. Upon the refusal of the 
barons to obey their feudal chief, the most turbulent wars were en- 
gendered, which shows feudalism to be adapted only to a dark age, 
or an age of feuds. Hence, with the dawn of light, letters, and 
liberty, feudalism vanishes away. 

CHIVALRY. 

This w r as also a peculiarity of the middle ages, and rather an 
accompaniment and softener of feudal manners. It w T as a strange 
blending of valor, love, and religion. Its origin is involved in obscu- 
rity, but it received a high finish in the times of the crusades. 

The sons of noblemen, destined for chivalry, were placed, at the 
age of seven years, in the castle of their father, or of some neigh- 
boring noble, to receive the course of education necessary to fit them 
for the performance of the duties, and the enjoyment of the honors, 
of chivalry. At the age of fourteen they received the title of esquire, 
and were then authorized to bear arms. They were kept in constant 
employment, and waited upon the master and mistress of the castle, 
at home and abroad. They were surrounded by noble ladies and 
valiant knights, so that their earliest impressions were those of love, 
gallantry, honor, and bravery. They were taught to adore chivalry, 
as containing all that was noble or desirable. 

"The love of God and the ladies, was enjoined as a single duty; 
and he who was faithful and true to his mistress, was held sure of 
salvation, in the theology of the castles." The virtues and endow- 
ments of an accomplished knight were, " beauty, strength, and agility 
of body ; great dexterity in dancing, wrestling, hunting, hawking, 
riding, tilting, etc. ; the virtues, piety, chastity, modesty, courage, 
loyalty, liberality, sobriety, an inviolable attachment to truth, and an 

50 



39-1 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

invincible courage." To roam among perils was noble ; and every 
knight was at liberty to challenge to single combat, and to fight with 
the utmost fury, all those of his order whom he met, if they did not 
acknowledge his lady-love to be the most beautiful in the world, 
— even if his friend had never seen her. From this foul seed of 
chivalry, sprang the still more foul fruit of duelling — a dark-age 
plant. 

Chivalry has been much lauded for its intrinsic excellence and its 
noble deeds ; but, from the fact that it had its origin, nourished, and 
decayed, in an age and under circumstances which no well-informed 
person, philanthropist or Christian, could wish back upon the earth 
again, there is no good reason why we should not repudiate chiv- 
alry also. A better faith says : " Do to others as ye would they 
should do to you." Chivalry says : " Be ready at all times to thrust 
thy sword into the belly of a heretic, as far as it will go." 

Upon the fall of the Western Empire, sprang up the modern 
nations of Europe. The Visigoths took Spain ; the Franks, Gaul ; 
the Saxons, England ; the Huns, Pannonia ; the Ostrogoths, Italy, 
etc., etc. Most of the divisions of the East, made at that time, still 
continue. 

MODERN NATIONS. 

Among the modern nations, which arose upon the ruins of the 
Roman Empire, most important to be noticed, are France and Eng- 
land. Of those that have since arisen, none can receive extended 
notice, consistent with the design of this work, except the United 
States. 

The chief points of importance connected with France and Eng- 
land, are the services they have each rendered the great interests of 
civil and religious liberty. The elements that have caused those 
nations to foment, have been the clashing interests of Royalty and 
Popery on one hand, and those of Republicanism and Protestantism 
on the other. They have been alternately and confusedly under the 
sway of one and the other, and both together, until a tolerable de- 
gree of order has been evolved from the chaos ; furnishing the world 
with two better specimens of nations than all antiquity can boast of. 
And yet a third has sprung out of them, diverse from either, suc- 
cored by both, and of which both may be proud. The " philoso- 
pher's stone" of civil and religious liberty was at last found, upon 
-the virgin shores of Americus' " Columbia ! " 

By reference to the diagram, it will be seen that the two former 
.nations had their origin in the " Age of War for Opinion," and have 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 395 

continued to the present time; while the United States had its 
origin wholly in the last age, or that of " Consolidation." 



III. — AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 

FRANCE — FROM PHARAMOND TO LOUIS NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 
CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. FROM PHARAMOND, 4424 A. M., AND 420 A. C, TO PEPIN, 4756 A. M., 

AND 752 A. C. 

France, formerly called Gaul, was conquered and annexed to the 
Roman Empire by Julius Caesar, 51 B. C. It received its name, 
" France," from a tribe of Germans, living in the districts of the 
lower Rhine and Weser, who assumed the name of Franks, or Free- 
men, from their union to resist the dominion of the Romans. 

Pharamond. — After a great variety of the fortunes of war, the 
first permanent stand appears to have been made by the Franks 
against the Romans, under their leader, Pharamond. From this little 
graft, has grown the imposing nation of the French. 

Clodius, Merovo3us, and Childeric. — These are said to have 
been the successors of Pharamond. Nothing of note is connected 
with them, except the second, from whom the first dynasty of the 
kings of France took its name, — known as the Merovingian dynasty. 

Clovis. — He was grandson of Merovceus, and somewhat distin- 
guished. He defeated the Romans in the battle of Soissons ; next 
the King of Thuringia, who had invaded his kingdom ; then the 
Germans, in the battle of Tolbiac ; and, finally, the Visigoths, under 
Alaric, when he subdued all the south of Gaul. 

In his contest with the Germans, he is said to have invoked the 
aid of the God of Clotilda, his wife, who was a Christian. The bat- 
tle turning in his favor, he was true to his promise, that in the event 
of success he would embrace Christianity, and was accordingly bap- 
tized, he and three thousand of his subjects, on Christmas day, 496 
A. C. His motive, however, being a sordid one, he relapsed into 
sin. Clovis made Paris the seat of his empire. He published the 
Salic Laws, excluding females from the throne. He died in 511 A. C. 

Charles Martel. — The Merovingian kings proved themselves 
a race of weak rulers, being generally controlled by the " mayors of 
the palace," or the highest officers under the crown. Martel him- 
self, was mayor, and held the reins of government under three kings. 



396 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

After his father's death, his mother-in-law confined him in prison 
for a time ; but, escaping thence, he triumphed over all opposition, 
and took the reigns of government, and ruled, with the title of Duke 
of France ; and even when the throne became vacant, he continued in 
the same relation, without usurping the crown. The most signal 
service he rendered France, Europe, and possibly the world, was in 
his successful resistance of the Saracens, in 732 A. C. These furious 
crusaders threatened all Europe with subjugation to the Mohamme- 
dan power and religion, and but for their providential defeat by 
Charles Mart el, might to this day have been the masters of the civil- 
ized world. He checked their invasions into France and Spain in a 
general battle, between Poictiers and Tours, into which he drew 
them, defeating them with immense slaughter. From this blow 
they never recovered, and were finally driven out of the country, and 
the terror of their name perished throughout Europe. 

After some other conquests, Charles left the throne of France 
to his two sons, Pepin le Bref and Carloman, as mayors of the pal- 
ace. Childeric III., a weak prince, was the nominal king, but of 
little count, as the power was in the hands of the mayors. He was 
the last of the Merovingian race of kings. 



PERIOD II. FROM PEPIN, 4756 A. ¥., AND 752 A, C, TO THE END 01 THE REIGN 
OF PHILIP IV., 5317 A. M., AND 1313 A. C. 

Pepin. — Carloman, brother of Pepin, soon retired to a monastic 
life, leaving the sole administration to his brother. From Carloman 
sprang the name of the "Carlovingian" race of kings, — Pepin being 
the first king. 

Pepin, now seeing that Childeric III. was all the impediment in 
his way to being king, set himself at work to clear the track. Car- 
loman, having become a good son of the church, opened the heart 
of His Holiness towards the aspirant for the throne of France ; 
and Pepin, knowing the influence the favor of the Pope would have 
in establishing his usurpation, propounded this question to him : 
" Who ought to sit upon the throne of France, Childeric or Pepin ? " 
His Holiness, Pope Zachary, replies : " You, Pepin." 

Hereupon Pepin assembles a meeting of dignitaries at Soissons, in 
751, where he was proclaimed king, and crowned by St. Boniface, 
Bibhop of Mentz. Shortly after, he marched against the revolted 
Saxons, defeated them, and added Languedoc to the realm. Upon 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 897 

Lis return from this expedition, he was crowned a second time, by 
Pope Stephen II. In return for this gracious act, Pepin marched 
against the Lombards, who had invaded the principality of Ravenna, 
and threatened Rome itself. The invaders were spared, on condition 
they would surrender Ravenna, which Pepin bestowed on the Holy 
See. This raised the Pope to the rank of a temporal prince, and 
united the sceptre to the " Keys." Charles Martel saved Europe 
from the power of the Mohammedans; Pepin put it under the power 
of the popes. He next drove out the remainder of the Saracens 
from the south of France. 

Pepin was only four and a half feet in height. Upon hearing that 
some of his courtiers ridiculed his personal appearance, he invited 
them the next day to witness a fight between a lion and a bull. The 
lion immediately leaped upon the bull, and would soon have destroyed 
him. Pepin, turning to his courtiers, asked them : " Who has the 
resolution to go and oblige the lion to let go his hold ? " ISTo one 
spoke. " Mine, then, shall be the task," said Pepin ; and, leaping 
into the amphitheatre with a drawn sword, cut off the lion's head at 
a single blow. What Pepin lacked in stature, his mocking courtiers 
lacked in courage. Pepin died in 768 A. C, after a successful reign, 
in his fifty-fourth year, leaving his dominions to his two sons, Charles 
and Carloman. An observation worth remembering is this, that the 
popes of Rome have never received greater favors, nor greater 
abuses, from any potentates in the world, than they have from the 
kings of France. 

Charlemagne. — Carloman, brother of Charlemagne, dying soon 
after his father, left the whole kingdom to Charles. He is called 
Charlemagne (i. e., Charles the Great) both for his exploits and 
personal size. For, notwithstanding the diminutive size of Pepin, 
his father, he is said to have been seven feet high, of a robust con- 
stitution, and a majestic appearance. He also distinguished himself 
as a warrior and statesman. He had a long and bloody contest with 
the Saxons, overthrew the Lombards in Italy, and made extensive 
conquests even beyond the Danube; so that his kingdom finally in- 
cluded France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, much of Italy, 
and part of Spain. But his greatest difficulty was in subduing the 
brave and freedom-loving Saxons. His effort to subdue their fierce 
spirit, in attempting to convert them to Christianity by compulsion, 
is most reprehensible. Several thousands of them were butchered, 
for refusing to receive Christian baptism. His zeal, in compelling all 
whom he conquered to receive baptism, won for him the distinction 
of " Saint," for his eminent services to the Papal Church. 

In the year 800, he was crowned Emperor of the West, by Pope 



SOS HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Leo III. In his yearly tour from France into Germany, he used to 
call at Rome. On his last visit there, while on his knees at mass 
before the altar, the Pope came suddenly behind him, and placed on 
his head the crown worn by the Caesars of Imperial Rome. This act 
was loudly applauded by the populace. But this did not restore 
ancient Rome to its former splendor. The new Western Empire of 
Charlemagne arose with its great emperor, and also perished with 
him. (See the same of Epaminondas and Thebes, page 312.) He 
Lad no particular capital of the empire, though Aix-la-Chapelle was 
his favorite residence for a long time. 

His superintendence of the affairs of the realm was very extraordi- 
nary, — giving even personal attention to the redress of grievances, 
and to the execution of his orders. He discountenanced luxury, 
encouraged industry, and sought to elevate the social and intellectual 
character of his subjects, though he himself could not spell his own 
name. His court was frequented by Alcuin. and other learned men 
of the time, and he endeavored, but with poor success however, to 
dispel the ignorance of the times. 

His frugality and simplicity of manners are seen in superintending 
his own farms, and in training his sons to every manly exercise. His 
court ladies were employed with the needle and distaff, and lie took 
great- pleasure in appearing ornamented with the needlework of his 
wife and daughters. He often invited his sumptuously dressed cour- 
tiers to hunting excursions, when he would lead them into the wild 
forests, where they would get their fine clothes badly torn. On their 
return, he would show them his own uninjured sheepskin cloak, in 
contrast with their own tattered vestments. He then, by way of 
advice and rebuke, would say: '"Leave silks and finery to women ; 
the dress of a man is for use, and not for show." Charlemagne died 
at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the seventy-second year of his age, and the 
forty-sixth of his reign, 814 A. C. 

Loos I. — He was son and successor of Charlemagne, and a weak 
prince, having an inglorious reign. He left his kingdom to his three 
sons, 840 A. C. 

Charles I. — He and his two brothers quarrelled, which involved 
their subjects in a bloody war, and the strife was ended by the terrible 
battle of Fontenay, where one hundred thousand men fell, including 
most of the nobility of France. A new division of the empire now 
followed, when Charles received the western part of France, termed 
Aquitaine and Xeustria ; Lothaire received Italy; ami Louis, Ger- 
many. During the reign of Charles, the Normans invaded France, 
and burnt Paris. Thus the Empire of the TTest was soon divided. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 399 

Germany, being now lost to France, takes a separate place among 
the nations of Europe. 

Louis II. — He was son of Charles I., and, in order to secure 
peace in his realm, was obliged to make many gifts of lands, titles, 
and offices to his nobles and bishops. Advantage was taken of this 
weakness of the king, and in those feudal times the titled grandees 
chose to remain in their castles, and even became so formidable as to 
defy the power of government, and keep the country in commotion 
through their feuds. He came to the throne in 877 A. C. 

Louis III. and Caeloman. — These were sons of Louis II., and 
were united and vigorous, and met with some success against the 
Normans. Louis, in pursuing a young female who fled from him, 
struck his head against a door, and was killed by the blow, in 882. 
Carloman was killed by a spear, which one of his company threw at 
a wild boar, 884. 

Charles II. — He was called to the throne, in 885. He was son 
of Louis I., of Germany, and grandson of Charles I. He was soon 
rejected for his cowardice, and Eudes, Count of Paris, and brother 
of Louis III. and Carloman, was chosen Regent, by the nobility of 
France, during the minority of Charles. 

Eudes. — He reigned a short time, and died. 

Chaeles III. — Upon the death of Eudes, Charles came to the 
throne, in 898 A. C. During his reign, the Normans invaded Neus- 
tria, which was ceded to them in 911. To Polio the king gave his 
daughter Giselle in marriage. From this time the country was called 
Normandy, from the Normans, from whom sprang the future con- 
queror of England. Charles died in prison, 929. 

Robeet. — Charles was deposed by Robert, brother of Eudes, in 
922. Though Charles was a weak monarch, and despised by his 
nobles, yet he slew Robert with his own hand. 

Rodolph — Son-in-law to Robert, succeeded to the throne, 923. 

Louis IV. and Lothaiee. — The son of Charles III. He was 
called to the throne in 936. He was called Outremer, or Transma- 
rine, from being brought up in England. During his reign, and that 
of Lothaire, the administration of affairs passed into the hands of 
Hugh the Great — like the mayors in earlier times. 

Louis V. — While Louis succeeded to the throne, Hugh Capet, 
son of Hugh the Great, succeeded to the control of the government, 
as his father had done. Lothaire and Louis were both poisoned by 
their queens. Louis V. was the last of the Carlovingian dynasty. 

Hugh Capet. — He assumed the government of France in 987 
A. C. Finding, upon the death of Louis, that he held in his power 
a vacant throne, and with the example of Pepin before him, and with 



400 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

far loss violence, he could, so with equal safety and willingness he 
did, seat himself thereon. 

Capet was the first of the third race, or dynasty, of the kings of 
France, called the Capetian. He was crowned at Rheims, the third 
of July. His reign was marked with ability, both by the enactment 
of salutary laws and by adding considerable territories to his king- 
dom. He made Paris his place of residence, though it had been 
deserted by his predecessors for over two hundred years. Though 
holding and wielding the power of France, yet Capet never assumed 
the insignia of royalty, — probably through fear of the jealousy of 
his nobles. On great occasions, even, he appeared in a plain dress. 

Robert II. — He was son of Capet, and had been associated with 
his father in power from near the beginning of his reign. He suc- 
ceeded to the empire in 996. He married Bertha, his fourth cousin, 
daughter of the King of Burgundy. From some motive, the Pope 
disapproved of the marriage, and annulled it, excommunicated the 
king, and put his kingdom under an interdict. Ill treatment that, to 
the sovereigns of France, who had done so much for the Pope ! But 
it was doubtless, in part, a spite at the Capetian dynasty. 

The confusion of affairs which followed this step was great. The 
king was almost forsaken by his court, such was the horror felt in 
those times towards an excommunicated person. From the extraor- 
dinary pressure upon the king, he was obliged to abandon Bertha, 
though much against his will. In order to please His Holiness (?), 
Robert married Constantia, who caused him endless trouble. She 
procured the assassination of the grand master of the palace ; she 
sowed discord among the king's sons, and caused thousands of 
heretics (?) to be cruelly put to death. It was no crime in the 
Pope's eyes for Robert to live with this fiend ; but to live with his 
fourth cousin, annoyed the holy (?) father into a righteous indig- 
nation. 

It is not a little singular, that in Languedoc, the very region of 
this fierce persecution, the cause of Protestantism has ever since held 
the ascendency over Catholicism. Robert was the first king whose 
touch was said to cure the scrofula, or " King's Evil." 

Henry I. — Upon the death of the king, his two sons, Henry and 
Robert, both aspired to the throne. Their meddlesome mother-in- 
law sought to promote Robert ; but, after some bloodshed, Henry 
obtained his right, and became king, 1031 A. C. He was an ener- 
getic sovereign, and successful in arms, and at first joined William of 
Normandy, against the Norman nobles, but finally turned against 
William, which laid a foundation for long and disastrous wars. 

In the reign of Henry I. occurred another famine, which spread 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 401 

desolation in France and Europe. Human flesh was not only eaten, 
but the dead even were dug up and eaten. At hotels, the poor were 
taken to furnish the tables at breakfast. Crops were cut off, pastur- 
ing failed, and cattle and men died. In Henry's time, a law was 
passed, called "The Truce of God," prohibiting duelling between 
Thursday and Sunday. Such was its prevalence at this time, that 
all classes were obliged to meet in single combat ; even priests must 
fight when challenged, or provide a substitute. This law was a slight 
effort at reform, and a very commendable one, amid the darkness of 
the times. 

Philip I. — He took the crown of France when seven years old, 
in 1060, under the Regency of Baldwin, Count of Flanders. Being 
rather a spectator than an actor in his reign, we look more for what 
was done, than for what he did. 

In his time, Peter the Hermit preached and instigated the first 
crusade. In his reign also occurred the invasion of France by Wil- 
liam the Conqueror, a king of England. This, no doubt, was done 
by William out of revenge for the part Henry I. had taken against 
him. From this time began a long-continued rivalship and hostility 
between the French and English monarchies. 

Louis VI. — He ascended the throne of France in 1108. He had 
rather a popular reign, and was esteemed a very good king. In a 
war carried on with Henry I. of England, he was unsuccessful, and 
his army defeated at Brenneville, in 1119. In his flight, after the 
battle, an Englishman seized his horse's bridle, and exclaimed : " The 
king is taken ! " When Louis replied : " The king is never taken, 
not even in a game of chess ! " and struck his enemy down, and fled. 

On his death-bed, he charged his son, who was to succeed him, 
thus : " Remember that royalty is nothing more than a public charge, 
of which you must render a very strict account to Him who makes 
kings, and who will judge them." 

Louis VII. — He succeeded his father in 1137. Having been edu- 
cated in an abbey, he was zealous for the religion of the age. The 
eminent men of the abbeys in this age, were Suger, a great politician, 
Bernard, famous for his eloquence and zeal in exciting the seco?id 
crusade, and Abelard, celebrated for his genius and learning in scho- 
lastic theology, and for his unfortunate love for Heloise, and the 
misfortunes he suffered therefor. 

Louis quarrelled with the Pope respecting the appointment of an 
archbishop, — the king against, and the Pope for, the appointment. 
Louis marched to the town of Vitry, at the head of a large army, 
and burnt the church, in which the rebellious people had taken 
refuge, when thirteen hundred perished in the flames. The king 

ol 



402 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

was brought to repentance for this act, and led to favor the second 
crusade. 

He married Eleanor, heiress of the Grand Duchy of Guienne, whom 
he divorced for her levities and vices. In six weeks' time after, she 
married Henry Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, who became, the next 
year, Henry II. of England ; and who, by this marriage, acquired 
large possessions in France — nearly one-fifth of it. Louis, in his 
time, made several pilgrimages ; among them, one to the tomb of 
Thomas a Becket. In one of these tours he died, and his body was 
deposited in a tomb in the Abbey of Barbeau. Charles IX., in 1556, 
visited it, and found the body in a high state of preservation ; and 
took off the gold rings on his fingers, and a gold chain found in the 
tomb, and wore them. He was another of the French kings who 
differed with the Pope. 

Philip II. (Augustus). — He ascended the throne in 1180, and 
reigned forty-three years. Pie was the most ambitious and enter- 
prising monarch of France, since Charlemagne. A severe act of his 
was, the confiscation of the property, and expulsion of the Jews from 
France. 

He joined Richard the Lion-hearted in a third crusade. During 
Richard's absence, Philip invaded Xorrnandy ; but, upon his return, 
the English undertook to punish the French for seizing their territory. 
During the war, Richard died, when John ascended the English 
throne, in spite of his nephew, Arthur, who was the rightful heir, and 
was supported by Philip. 

It being suspected that John poisoned his nephew, Philip sum- 
moned him, as Duke of Xormandy, to appear and answer to the 
charge, before a tribunal of his peers. This John refused to do ; 
whereupon he was declared guilty of felony, and his French posses- 
sions confiscated. Philip then took forcible possession of Xormandy, 
and added it to France, — three hundred years after it had been de- 
tached from it, by the incapacity of Charles the Third. In a short 
time the King of England lost all his possessions in France, except 
Guienne. While Philip's father quarrelled with the Pope, he, on the 
other hand, so far favored him, as to give the Inquisition his sanction, 
— which institution had a strong leaning towards the Papacy. 

Philip left his kingdom about double the size it was when he came 
to the throne. 

Louis VIII. — He came to the throne of his father in 1223. He 
was bold and bitter. He took most of the English possessions on 
the Continent, and instigated a furious persecution against the 
Albigenses. He was poisoned at the siege of Avignon, by the Count 
of Champaign. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 408 

Louis IX. ("Saint Louis") — Became king at twelve years of 
age, in 1226. He is styled pious, upright, and benevolent. He of- 
fered successful resistance to Henry III. of England, in his war with 
that king. His only fault was fanaticism. He engaged in two cru- 
sades, in the last of which he died, near Tunis. 

Philip III. — He succeeded his father in 1270. He had no prom- 
inent trait of character, except for amassing wealth. He ended the 
crusade, in which his father died, favorably to himself. Failing in an 
attempt to avenge the massacre of ten thousand Frenchmen in the 
Island of Sicily, known as that of the Sicilian Vespers, he died of 
grief in consequence. 

Philip IV. — He ascended the throne in 1285. He was called 
" The Fair," from the beauty of his countenance and the elegance of 
his person. Yet in disposition, he is represented as ambitious, de- 
ceitful, perfidious, and cruel. 

In attempting to raise money of the clergy, as well as his other 
subjects, he was involved in a quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII., 
who prohibited the clergy from paying the tax, laid France under an 
interdict, and issued a bull, declaring, " That the vicar of Christ 
is vested with full authority over the kings and kingdoms of the 
earth ! " Upon this haughty and intolerant claim, Philip responded 
by denouncing Boniface as an impostor, heretic, and simoniac, and 
declared the Roman See vacant. He contrived also to seize the 
person of the Pope, then placed His Holiness upon a horse without 
saddle or bridle, and vrith his face turned towards the horse" 1 s tail. 
This indignity, with the loss of his immense treasure, so recoiled 
upon the Pope, that he died of a broken heart. 

In addition to this onslaught upon the " Vicar of Christ," Philip 
procured the election of Clement V., a Frenchman, as his successor, 
and transferred the seat of the Papacy from .Rome to Avignon, in 
France, where it remained for seventy years. The Italians became 
indignant at these proceedings, and styled the removal, " The Baby- 
lonish Captivity of the Holy See." He also abolished the order of 
Knights Templars (a feudal military-religious society in the interests 
of Papacy), and confiscated their immense property. Violent as 
were his proceedings against the Pope, they checked the growing 
assumptions of the papal power; and from this facing about of 
Boniface, the decline of the Papal Church began, and it has never 
recovered from it yet ; neither do its assumptions over the potentates 
of the earth seem to be required. 

Another example of Pepinism, j)er contra. Philip has the honor 
of instituting French parliaments. He left four children, — Louis, 
Philip, Charles, and Isabella. 



404 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 



PERIOD III. FROAI PHILIP IV., 5317 A. M., AXD 1313 A. C, TO FRANCIS II. , 5563 
A. II., AND 1559 A. C. 

Louts X. — He ascended the throne of France in 1314. The 
principal event in his reign was the death of his prime minister, for 
alleged crimes, but in reality for his wealth. He reigned only a few 
months. 

Johx I. — An infant son of Louis X., and born after his death. 
Died at four days old. 

Philip Y. — His reign was distinguished for persecution of the 
Jews, and of all foreigners residing in his dominion ; and refused to 
embrace Christianity himself. The Jews were accused of poisoning 
the wells and springs of water. 

Charles IY. — Philip, leaving no male heir, his brother Charles 
came to the throne in 1322. He was called a wise and upright prince, 
but reigned only five years. 

BRANCH OF YALOIS. 

The Capetian race of kings still continues on the throne of France, 
in the branch of Yalois. 

Philip VI. (of Valois). — The three sons of Philip IV., leaving 
no male heirs, and the Salic law — which forbid females coming to 
the French throne — preventing Isabella, now Queen of England, 
from assuming the government, Philip VI., cousin-german to Charles 
IV., was acknowledged by the French nation, 1328. Upon this, 
Edward III. of England, son of Isabella, asserted his claim, in right 
of his mother. This is the ground of the claim of the English kings 
to the crown of France, and which gave rise to the fierce contests 
for it between the two nations. Edward invaded France with an 
army of thirty thousand men, to maintain his right by force. He 
gained the famous battle of Cressy, and captured Calais. The Eng- 
lish gained some advantages by the war, but the French retained the 
sceptre, and Philip on the throne. 

Amid his misfortunes, Philip had the pleasure of seeing the prov- 
ince of Dauphiny annexed to the crown of France, by its last count, 
Hubert, on condition that the king's oldest son should bear the title 
of Dauphin. 

During the reign of Philip, occurred a general plague. Commenc- 
ing in the northern provinces of China, it swept over Asia, Africa, 
and Europe, raging for eighteen months. The remotest history fur- 
nishes no account of any such calamity surpassing this in its horrors 
and devastations. In places, it cut down two-thirds of the inhabitants. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 405 

It was preceded by terrific earthquakes, that swallowed up whole 
cities. 

John II. — He succeeded his father in 1350. Taking the field, 
with sixty thousand men, against the "JBlack Prince" he was de- 
feated by a far inferior number, in the battle of Poictiers, and made 
prisoner, and carried to London. 

After four years, he was permitted to return to France, upon 
ceding several important places to the English. John, however, soon 
returned to England, — it is supposed on account of a passion he had 
for the Countess of Salisbury. He soon after died in London. 

Charles V. — The dauphin, assumed the government during the 
captivity of the king, and upon his death succeeded to the throne, 
with the title of Charles V., in 1364. To him is attributed the 
honor of saving France from the dominion of England. Though of 
a slender constitution, he was a patron of literature and a sagacious 
statesman. By creating Du Guesclin, a celebrated general, Consta- 
ble of France, the tide of success which had attended the British 
arms in France was turned, and most of the places they had captured 
were retaken. It is said Guesclin could neither read nor write. 

Charles V. is regarded as one of the best sovereigns France ever 
had, both in his public and private character. His father left him a 
library of twenty volumes, to which he added nine hundred, which 
rendered it the greatest library of the age. He is regarded as 
the founder of the magnificent royal library, of which Paris is still 
proud. 

Charles VI. — He succeeded his father, Charles V., in 1380. He 
commenced his reign by making war upon the Flemings. The suc- 
cesses of his father against the English, inspired him with the desire 
to invade England. The fleet fitted out for this purpose consisted 
of twelve hundred and eighty-seven sail, of which sixty were ships 
of the line. In the centre of it was a wooden city, three thousand 
paces in diameter, provided with towers and bastions, all built on 
boats fastened together. It was made so as to be easily taken to 
pieces in a day, and put up again, and was designed for lodgings for 
his troops, after landing. But the wreck only of this invading 
citadel reached the British shore, being scattered there by a furious 
tempest. 

During his reign, a civil war occurred between the houses of 
Orleans and Burgundy, concerning the regency, as Charles had 
become insane, and finally almost idiotic. The invention of cards 
occurred in his reign, and was got up for the purpose of amusing the 
king, to relieve the melancholy which followed his alienation of 
mind. Important invention, designed to amuse an insane old king, 



406 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

used now to amuse sane (?) men ! In the midst of the confusion 
and disorders this state of things produced, Henry V. of England 
invaded the country, and gained the memorable battle of Agincourt. 
The result of this victory, and other advantages gained thereby, was 
the acknowledgment of his right to the French throne, upon the 
death of Charles, in a treaty made at Troyes. These sovereigns 
soon after died, and within two months of each other. 

Charles VII. — He was son of Charles VI., and was crowned at 
Poictiers, 1422 ; and at the same time, the infant Henry VI. was 
crowned at Paris, through the agency of the Duke of Bedford, the 
English Regent of France. 

Notwithstanding the treaty of Troyes, which gave the crown of 
France to England, Charles determined to recover by force what had 
been taken by force, and so asserted his right to the crown. This 
competition issued in war. The English first undertook the siege of 
Orleans, a place of great importance. Here an act of daring occurred, 
which threw the heroes of ancient Troy, Marathon, and Thermopyla3 
into the shade. 

The affairs of Charles were continually growing worse and worse, 
until his council even had fled to Dauphiny in despair. At this junct- 
ure, Joan of Arc, a country girl of twenty-seven years of age, pre- 
sented herself before the council, and declared that God had revealed 
it to her that the troops of Charles would force those of the enemy 
to raise the siege. An assembly of divines declared her mission to 
be supernatural ; and, at her own request, she was clothed in male 
attire, and armor, and headed the troops. A noble white state 
horse bore her to the scene of combat, and on her banner was dis- 
played an image of the Saviour. The peculiar circumstances of her 
call, her singular and courageous appearance, made the French troops, 
led on by the intrepid girl, invincible, and the English were driven 
to flight. She saved her king and country. Charles recompensed 
this service, by incorporating Joan and her whole family, and their 
heirs and descendants, among the French nobility. 

After this, her peculiar mission, was finished, she asked leave to 
retire; but this request was refused, from the belief that her presence 
in the army would be of great service. But Joan was as sure that 
her mission was done, as she was of her call to it, and the sequel 
shows her to have been in the right. At the siege of Compeigne, 
not long after, she was taken prisoner by the English, tried for sor- 
cery, and condemned to be burnt. "When led to execution, the 
heroic maid, overcome by her emotions, burst into tears. This act, 
besides being an everlasting disgrace of itself, is made one of eternal 
infamy to her murderers, by prolonging her tortures. The place of 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 407 

her death was Rouen, France. The mode of her death was by a 
scaffolding of plaster, erected high above the fire, requiring consid- 
erable time for the flames to penetrate to her body, which was 
gradually consumed. 

The tide of fortune now turned against the English, and they lost 
the battle of Formigny, then Paris, and finally the whole of the 
French monarchy came into the hands of Charles, 1450. Charles 
came to his grave in sorrow, from the circumstance that his son, the 
Dauphin, sought his life by poison. In his reign originated the assem- 
bly called " The Pragmatic Sanction" composed of the nobility and 
clergy of the Gallican Church, to check the power of the popes, by 
asserting the superiority of their assemblies over the See of Rome. 
Another fling of France at His Holiness ! 

Louis XL — He was son of Charles VIL, and came to the throne 
in 1461. He immediately removed all his late father's ministers, and 
acted the tyrant in almost every respect to his subjects. He is rep- 
resented as an odious compound of dissimulation, profligacy, cruelty, 
and superstition, and has been styled the Tiberius of France. 

He was possessed of considerable talents, great application to 
business, affability of manners, the author of many wise laws and 
excellent regulations for commerce, and for promoting the adminis- 
tration of justice. His aim was to humble the nobles, and in these 
efforts provoked the war called " The War of the Public Good." 
A specimen of his cruelty is seen in his causing a nobleman's children 
to be placed under the scaffold where he was to be executed, so that 
they might be sprinkled with their parent's blood. 

He received from the Pope the title of u 3fost Christian Majesty," 
which is still retained by the kings of France. He died a victim of 
superstitious terror, and remorse of conscience. 

Charles VIII. — He succeeded his father, Louis XL, at the age 
of thirteen, under the regency of his sister, Anne of France, in 1483. 
Though mild and courteous, to the extent that he obtained the sur- 
name of " Affable," yet he led a life of intemperance, and was early 
cut off by that vice. The direct line of Philip of Valois ended with 
him. 

Louis XII. — He was great-grandson to Charles V., and came to 
the throne in 1498. He was a beneficent and popular sovereign, but 
unfortunate in his enterprises. He retained the ministers of the late 
king, even those who had ill-used him. His excuse for this was, that 
" it was unworthy of the King of France, to punish the injuries done 
the Duke of Orleans." He was Duke of Orleans, and with him 
began the " Branch of Orleans," of the Capetian kings. He gained 
the title of " Father of his Country," for his frugality and care for 



-108 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

it. His saying was : " I had rather my courtiers would laugh at 
my avarice, than my people weep on account of my extravagance." 
He is said to have procured money, however, by the improper sale 
of important offices. (Not peculiar, that, to Louis XII.!) 

In the first of his reign, he reduced Genoa and Milan, and pro- 
ceeded to enforce a claim the French kings had gained to Naples. 
At first he was successful, but was made the victim of the treachery 
of Ferdinand of Spain and Pope Alexander VI., and thereby lost 
Naples. After this, the wealth of the city of Venice became an 
object of desire to the powers around, when the League of Cambray 
was formed, consisting of Pope Julius II., the Emperor of Germany, 
and the kings of France and Spain. 

Louis entered into the war with Venice with spirit, and gained the 
battle of Agnadello. But the confederates quarrelled over the spoil, 
and a new league was formed against France. Betrayed a second 
time by the Pope, on the one hand, who, with the French kings aud 
people, on the other, blessed and cursed each other alternately, or 
indiscriminately, as occasion required. In his struggle with the con- 
federates, Louis lost his best general, Gaston de Foix, in the victory 
gained at Ravenna. Soon followed the loss of all the French pos- 
sessions in Italy. In the midst of preparations to regain his losses, 
Louis suddenly died. On every side the murmur was heard, " The 
sjood king is dead ! " 

Francis I. — He was nephew of the late king, and Duke of 
Angouleme, and ascended the throne in 1515. Being of a romantic 
turn, and eager for glory, he made early conquest of the Milanese, 
which advantage he soon lost. In 1519, the death of Maxamilian 
brought Francis I. and Charles V. of Spain into competition for the 
crown of Germany. Charles finally succeeded in obtaining the 
election, which threw them into deadly hostility for nearly thirty- 
eight years. 

The reign of Charles V. is of great importance, from the part he 
took in the Reformation. He threw the whole weight of his impe- 
rial power against it ; yet, for all that, the mighty cause triumphed. 
During his reign also occurred the divorce of Catharine of Arragon, 
aunt to Charles, and wife of Henry VIII. of England. Two import- 
ant events transpired in his reign, viz., the establishment of the Ref- 
ormation, and overthrow of Popery in England. 

Unfortunately for Francis, he quarrelled with his best general, the 
constable of Bourbon, who deserted to Charles, and was placed in 
chief command of his imperial forces. Francis and Bourbon soon 
met at Pavia, in Italy, where the French king fell into the hands of 
his own constable (formerly), a prisoner to Charles, and was detained 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 409 

for some time at Madrid. The surrounding kings, viewing the 
success of Charles with jealousy, a league was formed among them 
which checked his power. By this means, he w r as laid under the 
necessity of liberating the French king, who, reaching his own realm, 
exclaimed, " I am yet a king ! " Charles had meanly extorted prom- 
ises from him, while in bonds, which Francis felt bound to keep 
only with Punic faith. The breaking of these promises caused new 
wars and insulting challenges between the two sovereigns. England 
then joined France against Charles ; and the large army he sent 
against the French was so badly cut off, that he withdrew into Italy, 
sorely beaten. 

By the advice of friends, a truce of peace was concluded at Nice, 
for ten years, between Francis and Charles. The two monarchs soon 
after met at Aigues Mortes, in the south of France, and though they 
had been at war for twenty years, yet here they vied with each other 
in acts and expressions of respect and friendship. The next year, 
Charles obtained permission to pass through France, on his way to 
the Netherlands, and was entertained, during his stay of six days in 
Paris, with great magnificence. Charles had previously stipulated to 
grant the French king the investiture of Milan, but he departed 
from Paris without leaving any evidence of doing so. Upon this, 
war again broke out between them, with redoubled animosity. Peace 
was soon after concluded, Charles having all he could attend to in 
Germany, and Francis was willing to have the unequal contest cease ; 
Charles being more than a match for him in policy and resources. 

The elements of his character were, his open temper, beneficence, 
honor, generosity, and courage, mingled with rashness, negligence, 
fickleness, prodigality, and voluptuousness. His whole bearing, how- 
ever, was that of a finished gentleman. Under his auspices, the 
French court received that polish and refinement in taste and man- 
ners, for which it has since been so conspicuous throughout the world. 
In order to polish the manners of his court, he drew to it the most 
respectable women and distinguished prelates of the age. He 
founded the Royal College and Printing-House. While he en- 
couraged the study of the languages, he took care to have all the 
laws published in French. In the same manner he encouraged the 
fine arts ; he built Fontainbleau, and began the Louvre. He died 
in 1547. 

Henry II. — He succeeded his father in 1547; and, though brave 
and polite, was the slave of pleasure, and the dupe of favorites. He 
continued the w T ar with Charles V. and his son, Philip II. of Spain. 
At first Henry gained advantage in the victory at the siege of Metz, 
but was terribly defeated by Philip at St. Quentin. This war, the 

52 



410 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

success of which had not been very satisfactory to either party, was 
concluded by the treaty of Chateau Cambresis. 

The greatest point gained in his reign was, the recapture of Calais 
from the English, which was effected by the Duke of Guise, in eight 
days, to the astonishment of all Europe. The blot of his reign was, 
the increase of the persecution of the Huguenots, which was com- 
menced in the reign of Francis L, and which gave rise to the dis- 
tracting wars of the three following reigns. 

His death occurred by his attempting to amuse the ladies, at a 
tournament (mock fight), with a tilt between himself and the Count 
of Montgomery, who was considered the most dexterous jouster of 
his time. In their rencounter, both their lances were broken, and 
the count thrown from his horse. In his fall, the broken trunk of 
his spear, still remaining in his hand, struck the king's right eye, and 
produced so violent a contusion as to terminate his life. 

It was during the reign of Henry II. that the all-important treaty, 
called '•''The Peace of Religion^ was formed, at Augsburg, Ger- 
many, September 25, 1555. From that time each state proceeded in 
matters of religion according to its own pleasure, being responsible 
to no other power. Hence the cruel proceedings of the French 
government against the Protestants of its own realm, instigated by 
the diabolical spirit of Popery. 



IV. 

AGE OF CONSOLIDATION. 

SUB JECT — CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD IT. FROM FRANCIS II., 5563 A. M„ AND 1559 A. C, TO THE REPUBLIC, TO 
5796 A. M., AND 1792 A. C. 

Francis II. — The son of Henry II., was raised to the throne in 

1559. He was the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and reigned 
only seventeen months. In his reign the Potestants were persecuted 
with unabated rigor by the king, Cardinal of Lorraine, and five 
brothers, the Guises, at the head of the Catholics. Worried and 
chafed beyond endurance, they resolved upon self-defence. The 
Protestant cause had now become strong, embracing many of the 
nobility and court. Among them were the Prince of Conde and 
Admiral Coligny. 

Unfortunately they determined to dispatch their tormentors, and 
the conspiracy of Amboise was formed against them. This, however, 
was discovered, and twelve hundred conspirators were massacred or 
executed, — the Prince of Conde, brother of the King of Navarre, 
being an abettor with the conspirators. 

Charles IX. — The brother of Francis II., came to the throne in 

1560, under the regency of Catharine de Medicis, widow of Henry 
II., a profligate and ambitious woman, and a bigoted Papist. She 
had been familiar, for a long time, with the proceedings against the 
Protestants, and now, having the direction of public affairs, she pre- 
pares to roll in the blood of heretics. 

The Protestant cause had become so formidable, that some meas- 
ure of pacification became necessary. Hence, a conference was 
called, at Poissy, at which both parties assembled — the young king, 
his queen-mother, and the whole court. The illustrious reformer, 
Theodore Beza, defended the Protestants, and Cardinal Lorraine the 
Catholics. Neither party considered itself outdone, and yet Cath- 
arine and her sycophants deemed it politic to grant the heretics 
liberty to worship outside the walls of the towns. This insignificant 
edict was soon after basely violated, which plunged France for a 
long time in misery and blood. In a war that ensued, the Protes- 
tants were headed by Admiral Coligny and Conde, and the Catholics 



412 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

by Guise, Montmorency, and Philip of Spain. The Protestants, 
though generally beaten, were found to be so strong and unyielding, 
that it was thought best to decoy them, into a peace, that should be 
only the prelude to more awful scenes of atrocity and blood. 

It now became the policy of the government to caress the Prot- 
estants, in order to destroy them. With such consummate art did 
they practise the deception, that even the prudence of Coligny was 
lulled to sleep. An invitation was given to the Protestants, to at- 
tend the marriage of the King of Navarre, with Margaret, sister 
of Charles, at Paris. This was the fatal snare. The marriage took 
place on Sunday, on a platform erected before the door of the Ca- 
thedral of Notre Dame, in the presence of a vast concourse of both 
Catholics and Protestants, for the scene had lured thousands into 
the jaws of death. 

On Friday, the twenty-second of August, an attempt was made 
upon the life of Coligny. On his return to his lodgings from the 
Louvre, he was fired upon by an assassin (supposed to be King 
Charles), one ball carrying away the fore finger of his right hand, 
and another wounding him in the left arm. 

Charles and his mother soon hastened to the bedside of Coligny, 
and remained to see his wounds dressed, and hypocritically proposed 
his beir.g removed to the Louvre, where he could be more "com- 
fortably accommodated:'' 

In the early part of the night of the twenty-third, the preparations 
had all been made, and the unsuspecting victims had retired to rest, 
having confidence in their kino-. The houses of the Protestants had 
all been marked with white crosses on the doors, and their murderers 
were stationed at their posts. The chiefs were now busily engaged 
in riding from post to post, seeing that all was ready for the signal ; 
others assisting at the consultations of Catharine and Charles, still 
going on at the seat of the bloody plot. These unusual movements 
excited the curiosity of the Protestants, and some ventured out to 
inquire after the cause of the stir. They were told that it was in 
consequence of a nocturnal fete, about to be given. (Too true, alas !) 

Even at this stage, Catharine had not got Charles up to the point 
she wished ; and, fearing lest he would fail to order the work to 
begin, which was to be done at half-past two, at a signal from the 
great clock at the Palace of Justice (?), she, therefore, took advantage 
of the first moment, after Charles had signified his consent, to have 
the work begin, and caused the alarm to be rung from the steeple of 
the adjacent church of St. Germain 1' Auxerrois. As the bell rang 
its sounds of omen over the city and its suburbs, the people every- 
where started from their slumbers, but only to fall in death. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 413 

A furious rush was made into the house where Coligny was ; and 
a German, named Beme, a servant of Guise, approached Coligny, 
and, with a drawn sword aimed at his breast, asked him if he was 
the admiral. Gazing upon him, and then at the naked blade with 
which he was menaced, he said : " Young man, you ought to have 
respected my age and infirmity ; but you will only shorten my life 
a few days or hours." He then expressed a wish "to die like a 
soldier, and not by the hand of this menial." Beme then, after an 
oath, first thrust his sword into his breast, and next struck him sev- 
eral times on the head, others doing the same, until he fell. Guise 
then called out to know if the deed was done. He soon ordered 
the body thrown from the window, that he might see for him- 
self. At first he was unable to tell ; but wiping away the blood 
with a cloth from the face, and stooping down to see, exclaimed : 
"Yes, I know it now; it is he himself! " He then gave the body 
a kick, and left. 

This over, the bell from the Palace of Justice (?) sounded, to set 
all the subordinate agents in motion, with one continued cry, like 
fiends, of "Blood! blood!" On that terrible Sabbath, August 24, 
1572, blood reeked from the principal streets of Paris as from a 
field of battle. The horrors that then followed cannot be told. 
From Paris the fury spread into various parts of France ; and it is 
estimated that one hundred thousand Huguenots perished. Charles 
stood by, and set on his soldiers, saying, "Take care that none 
escape, to reproach me." He even took the responsibility of saying, 
that all was done by his order. A medal was struck, commemora- 
tive of the event, with the inscription, " Piety put the sword into 
the hands of Justice." 

When the news of the massacre reached Rome, solemn (?) thanks 
were given for the triumph of the church militant ; and public 
rejoicings were held in Spain. Of this most atrocious massacre, 
the French historian, Thuanus, says : " No example of equal bar- 
barity is to be found in all antiquity, or the annals of the world." 
And yet instigated and executed by the arch-monster Catharine. 

Charles soon after died, in the bitterest remorse for this horrible 
transaction, aged only twenty-four. This affair only strengthened 
Protestantism, instead of annihilating it. Both the Bourbons, the 
King of Navarre (who narrowly escaped with his life, even at his 
wedding), and the Prince of Conde espoused the cause ; and it was 
again found necessary to grant the Protestants liberty of conscience. 

Henry III. — He was Duke of Anjou, and had just been elected 
King of Poland, 1574. A very unworthy king. He found the 
Protestants so strong, he thought it politic to grant them some 



414 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

privileges. This so incensed the Catholics, that he finally joined a 
league formed for the avowed purpose of exterminating the Hugue- 
nots, but also a Jesuitical purpose of usurping all the powers of 
the government. 

Henry, not knowing this latter purpose of the league, now under 
the control of the Duke of Guise and Cardinal Lorraine, joined it, 
but soon saw that he was being deceived by the duke and cardinal, 
and so procured their assassination. This in turn incensed the 
Catholics, and now the king had the ill-will of all parties ; and he 
was soon after assassinated himself by James Clement, a Dominican 
friar. 

BOURBON DYNASTY. 

Hexey IV. (the Gee at). — Upon the death of Henry III., the 
Capetian race ran out by the house of Yalois becoming extinct, 
and the sceptre of France passed to the house of Bourbon, in the 
person of Henry III. of Navarre, who, on becoming King of France, 
took the name of Henry IV. At the age of sixteen he was pro- 
claimed the head of the party of the Huguenots; and, upon his mar- 
riage with Charles' sister, narrowly escaped death at the massacre 
of St. Bartholomew, but was three years a prisoner. He was unsuc- 
cessful until after the death of Charles, when he gained two impor- 
tant victories over the League, — one at Coutras, in 1587, the other 
at Argues, in 1589. But, after the death of Henry III., he defeated 
the League again, in the battle of Ivry, then commanded by 
Mayenne, brother of the Duke of Guise, who had proclaimed his 
uncle, the Cardinal of Bourbon, king, under title of Charles X. 

Though educated a Protestant, he found, upon being king, he 
was exposed to all the annoyances of Jesuitical cunning, and con- 
cluded to call himself a Catholic for sake of peace. Upon this 
change he was crowned at Chartres, and received absolution from 
the Pope, in 1594. In 1596 the Duke of Mayenne submitted to 
him as king, and so did the nation. Yet, out of respect to his old 
friends the Protestants, to whom he was under obligation for aid- 
ing him to the throne, he granted the celebrated Edict of Xantes, 
by which he secured to them the free toleration of their religion, 
and free admission to all offices of honor and profit. 

Henry's own great talents, aided by his great minister, the Duke 
of Sully, enabled him to put the kingdom into such a state as soon 
to recover, from the desolations of a thirty years' war. Besides, his 
manifest love for his subjects inspired in them respect for their king, 
and general happiness was the result. He and Sully formed a pro- 
ject, called The Grand Design, for dividing Europe into fifteen 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 415 

states, so arranged as to prevent war, and secure permanent peace, 
by making these ends the great interest of each and all the states. 

This was a faint dawning of civil liberty, originating with the 
King of France, in this dark time, the grandest scheme of state 
policy ever proposed hitherto, in any age. His purpose was to 
bring his plan about by force of arms, which he probably never 
could have done.- While impatient to depart on his romantic 
errand, gloomy forebodings haunted his mind, which soon changed 
to realities. Passing along the street one day, his coach became 
entangled, when his footmen leaving it for a short time, Ravaillac, 
a bigoted Catholic, who had followed him for some time secretly, 
for the purpose, seized this opportunity, and sprang forward and 
stabbed the king, in the midst of seven courtiers, in the twenty- 
first year of his reign and the fifty-seventh of his age. 

Upon showing Sully, one day, his written promise to marry an 
unworthy woman, Sully took the paper and tore it in pieces. " I 
believe you are mad ! " said Henry, in a rage. " It is true ; I am mad; 
and I wish I was the only madman in France ! " replied Sully. 
"While looking for his disgrace for such an altercation with the 
king, he received from him the brevet of Grand Master of the 
Ordnance. When asked, one time, to what the revenue of the 
kingdom amounted, Henry replied : " To what I please ; for, having 
the hearts of the people, they will give me whatever I ask. If 
God sees proper to spare my life, I will take care that France shall 
be in such a condition that every peasant in it shall be able to have 
a fowl in his pot." Henry's private and domestic character fall far 
short of his kingly character. During the first eighteen years of 
his reign, four thousand Frenchmen were killed in duels, arising out 
of amorous quarrels. 

Louis XIII. — He succeeded his father, in his ninth year, under 
the regency of his mother, Mary of Medicis, 1610. Her fondness 
for Italian favorites gave dissatisfaction to the French nobility, and 
the greatest disorders ensued. But, upon the king becoming of 
age, he -made .Cardinal Richelieu his prime minister, when things 
soon began to wear a different aspect. He entered into a political 
career with great energy and spirit. 

Richelieu's first effort was to subdue the turbulent spirit of the 
French nobility. He caused Conde to be arrested for his intrigues 
against Mary ; and, in turn, she was sent into temporary exile. He 
also subdued a rebellion excited by the king's brother, Duke of 
Orleans, supported by the Duke of Montmorency, by defeating 
their army, and executing Montmorency for treason. His next aim 
was to humble the power of the Protestants. Wearied and dis- 



416 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

heartened as to any peace with a Papal Government, they at last 
resolved to rid themselves of the yoke, or die. Rochelle was their 
head-quarters, and here Richelieu brought the power of the king to 
bear upon them. A brave resistance was maintained for a whole 
year, when the Protestants were forced to yield to the sinews of 
war wielded against them. Failing of seasonable help from Eng- 
land, for which they had asked, they finally yielded, after the sacri- 
fice of fifteen thousand lives ; and, with the fall of Rochelle, the 
Protestant power in France was crushed, and has never been able 
to rise above it since. His third great project was to humble the 
power of Austria. For this purpose, he united with the Protestant 
princes of Germany, and with Protestant England, to crush the 
power of Ferdinand of Spain, who was aiming at dominion where 
Richelieu himself chose to bear sway. Forgetting his hatred of 
Protestantism, he even, to save himself and humble his enemies, 
built up what at Rochelle he had trampled down. 

Amid all his labors and intrigues in politics at home, and in 
nearly all the other courts of Europe, he found time to lend a great 
service to the cause of literature and science; and the French 
Academy owes its origin to the genius of Richelieu. No king of 
France ever appeared so little in his own character and acts as 
Louis XIII. ; and no minister ever appeared so much in the char- 
acter of the king as Cardinal Richelieu. Louis died aged forty- 
three. 

Louis XIY. (the Geeat). — He came to the throne, in 1643, at 
five years of age, under the regency of Anne of Austria, his mother, 
who chose Cardinal Mazarin as her minister. The education of the 
young king was confided to him, and shamefully neglected. By his 
avarice, he caused heavy burdens to be imposed upon the people, 
until a civil war was fomented, under Cardinal de Retz, supported 
by the aristocracy. 

Upon his death, Louis, being now twenty-two years old, took 
upon himself the whole control of affairs. He was very fortunate 
in his selection of generals and ministers. Colbert regulated his 
finances with unparalleled skill ; while Conde and Turenne were the 
two ablest generals of the age, and Yauban the greatest fortifier 
of towns. His arms were everywhere triumphant. He conquered 
Franche Compte, and annexed it to France ; made conquests in the 
Netherlands ; overran Alsace, and twice laid waste the Palatinate 
with fire and sword. The first time, from the tower of Manheim, 
twenty-seven towns and cities of the Palatinate could be seen in 
flames at once. In the second case, more than forty towns and vil- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 417 

lages were burnt, and the people reduced to the greatest extremities 
of cold and hunger. 

In 1675 Turenne was killed by a cannon ball, Colbert died, 
Concle retired, and no men arose to fill their places. Louis had 
reduced his strength in making his conquests, so that he was unable 
to hold them ; and, in all his exploits, he manifested such ambition 
as to provoke the jealousy of the other states of Europe to oppose 
him, which gave rise to long and bloody wars. The League of 
Augsburg was brought about by William, Prince of Orange ; but, 
for a time, Louis was successful against the leaguers ; and here he 
attained the summit of his glory. In 1697 he was obliged to con- 
clude the Peace of Ryswick. 

Soon after, however, the " War of the Succession " broke out, the 
avowed object of which was to put Austria in possession of the 
throne of Spain, in the event of the death of Charles II. with- 
out issue. This Louis was barely able to prevent, against England, 
Germany, and Holland, their armies being under the command of the 
Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. Louis lost his sway in 
the victories of the allies in the battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, 
Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. One or two victories after this, on the 
part of France and Spain, preserved Philip, Louis' grandson, on the 
throne. But, at the Peace of Utrecht, 1713, Louis lost nearly all he 
had gained. 

The baseness of Louis is manifest in the revocation, in 1685, of 
the " Edict of Nantes," granted to the Protestants by Henry IV. 
AH their privileges, therein decreed, were taken away, and the exer- 
cise of them forbidden, upon penalty of death. They were out- 
lawed, and hunted like wild beasts. By this piece of barbarity 
France lost eight hundred thousand of her most peaceable and in- 
dustrious citizens by death and exile. In the arts and manufactures 
the Protestants are said to have excelled. 

Louis gave much attention to public works, and patronized the 
arts and sciences. Besides embellishing the capital, he built the 
splendid palace of Versailles, and the canal of Languedoc. His is 
called the Augustan Age of French Literature ; and his reign is less 
distinguished for military advantage, than for the noble impulse 
given the arts and sciences. His reign, though far from being the 
best, for either France or the world, was the longest of which we 
have any account in the pages of history, reaching the unparalleled 
length of seventy-two years. He died aged nearly seventy-eight. 

Louis is said to have been the handsomest man in his kingdom, 
and excelled in all polite accomplishments. " The greater part of 
his reign may be considered as a spectacle, with grand machinery, 

53 



418 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

calculated to excite astonishment. Towards the close, we behold 
nothing but the wrecks of that theatrical majesty, and the illusion 
vanishes." Louis was "the best actor of majesty that ever filled a 
throne." 

Louis XV. — He was great-grandson of Louis XIV., and came 
to the throne in 1715 (being only five years of age), under the re- 
gency of the Duke of Orleans. This regency is noted for the Mis- 
sissippi Scheme of Law, which project was to pay off the national 
debt, by introducing a paper currency. It proved the ruin of thou- 
sands, and sunk the finances of the state still lower. From this 
time no paper money could be issued under the old constitution. 

Louis chose, when of age, Cardinal Fleury for his prime minister, 
who maintained the peace of Europe for nearly twenty years. After 
the death of Fleury, France was involved in the war of the Austrian 
Succession. Charles VI. dying, two claimants appeared for the 
crown, — Maria Theresa, the late emperor's eldest daughter, who 
married Francis of Lorraine, supported by England, was one, and 
Charles, Elector of Bavaria, supported by France and Prussia, the 
other. Hostilities were terminated by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and Maria was acknowledged. 

In 1755 a war broke out between France and England, respecting 
their American possessions, which was terminated by the Peace of 
Paris, in 1763, when Canada and the territories in North America 
were ceded by France to Great Britain. 

Louis is represented as a tyrannical and profligate sovereign, and 
that his government was one of mistresses. In order to furnish 
himself with means for supporting his profligacy, he entered into 
the monopoly of corn, by which he starved and oppressed his sub- 
jects, to lavish it upon his minions and mistresses. Pie left, in his 
private treasury, two hundred millions of livres, thus extorted from 
the bread of his people. He also quarrelled with his parliaments, 
until both they and his subjects began to think ill of royalty ; and 
this feeling ripened into the terrible commotions which overwhelmed 
his successor. The two reigns of Louis Fourteenth and Fifteenth, 
make an aggregate of one hundred and thirty-one years, which 
circumstance is unequalled in history. 

Louis XVI. — He was grandson to the late king, and ascended 
the throne in 1774, at the age of twenty years. He came to the 
throne in troublous times. He is represented as a man of correct 
morals, upright intentions, and desirous of reforming abuses ; but 
was not equal, in the requisite qualities, to the emergencies of the 
times. The nation had become disgusted with the tyrannical and 
profligate career of its former kings, and were in no condition to 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 419 

endure the necessary changes to bring about a reform. The nobles, 
who had been caressed, flattered, and fattened by royal pap, were 
determined to maintain their privileges at all hazards ; while the 
people had come to a similar determination, to submit to abuses no 
longer. Unhappy must be the king, when his nobles will not sub- 
mit to reforms, and the commons will not submit to abuses ! 

Louis engaged some of the best men of the age as his ministers, 
— Targot, and then Necker, a Protestant of Geneva, and a banker ; 
but the finances of the state were beyond the reach of recovery. 
Calonne then took the office, and at once abandoned reform, and 
made a boast of prodigality. Ruinous as was this last step to 
France, yet it was fortunate for the world ; for, about this time, 
war broke out between England and the American Colonies. 
France, glad to have an opportunity to give England a blow, at 
once sent men and supplies to assist the Americans, under the gal- 
lant Marquis de Lafayette, and declared war with England, which 
still further increased her debts, and at last stopped the wheels of 
state. 

But a more terrible blow than that upon the finances of France 
fell upon her when her gallant officers returned to their oppressed 
country, covered with military glory, and flushed with the liberty 
they had just aided others in obtaining. This spark set on fire the 
huge mass of rubbish that had been accumulating for ages from the 
oppressions of her rulers. Some kindlings had been prepared, mean- 
while, by the progress of ]:milosophy, free-thinking, and atheism*, 
which the writings of Voltaire, Rousseau, and others, had so effectu- 
ally aided. So that the bloody massacres in which the civil power 
had been involved, and wasted its substance, goaded on by Popery 
to the destruction of Protestantism, provoked a fourth element 
(infidelity) into existence, which enveloped the nation in the flames 
of civil war. 

. Upon the return of peace, the government was reduced to a 
standstill for want of supplies. Louis, now at his " wit's end" by 
the advice of Colonne, convoked an assembly of the Notables (per- 
sons of the higher (?) orders), when it was proposed to raise funds by 
a land tax, upon both nobles and clergy, and all, in proportion ; but 
they were not the persons to yield to such a demand. At this, 
Colonne resigned, for he could do no more. Recourse was next had 
to the Parliament, at Paris, but without success ; whereupon a con- 
vocation of the States- General met (i. e., a body composed of nobility, 
clergy, and the commons). The Notables were again convoked, and 
Necker proposed to them that the deputies of the Commons should 
be equal in number to those of the other two orders united ; but in 



420 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

this they refused to concur. It was, however, sanctioned by the 
king, and carried into effect ; and, in May 5, 1789, the assembly of 
the States- General was opened at Versailles. 

The king addressed the States- General in a very conciliatory 
speech, little like a tyrannical autocrat blurting at plebeians. But 
questions soon arose whether matters should be decided by a major- 
ity of orders, ov polls. This was the old question again, in reality ; 
viz., despotism or liberty? At this juncture, upon the motion of 
Abbe Sieves, the Commons, with such of the nobles and clergy as 
chose to join them, seized the legislative authority, declared them- 
selves the representatives of the people, and constituted themselves 
the National Assembly — a body " one and indivisible." Bailly was 
president of it. Mirabeau, a man of brilliant talents and great elo- 
quence, was the popular leader. The Duke of Orleans, descendant 
of Louis XIII., rich and profligate, was a prominent member. 

The first act of the National Assembly was that of sovereignty ; 
and, being indivisible, all orders — king, nobles, and clergy — were 
now at the mercy of the down-trodden Commons. At this time, the 
worst of all for him, the king ejected the popular Necker, at which the 
pent-up fury, so long in accumulating, burst forth. On the 14th July, 
1789, the Bastile — a huge state prison — was demolished by the infu- 
riated populace, even women participating, and Paris was turned into 
a field of blood again. The army joined the people ; the nobility. (?) 
emigrated for safety; and the king, queen, and royal family were 
driven from Versailles to the capital by the mob, and only protected 
there from violence by Lafayette, who commanded the National 
Guard. 

Upon this turn of affairs, the National Assembly removed to 
Paris, and continued the measures of reform. The three orders 
were discontinued ; the royal authority nearly annihilated ; the priv- 
ileges of the nobles and clergy, and the feudal system, in all its 
branches, abolished; religious liberty and freedom of the press estab- 
lished ; church lands confiscated ; monasteries suppressed ; and France 
divided into thirty-eight departments. The next step of the Assem- 
bly was the formation of a Constitution, which gave it the name of 
" The Constituent Assembly" During its sittings, the king under- 
took to make his escape, but was caught on the frontiers of the 
kingdom, and brought back. A constitution was formed, which 
established a limited monarchy, the equality of all ranks, and was 
accepted by the king ; and the Assembly dissolved, September 30, 
1791. The next Assembly, which met on the first of October, was 
styled The Legislative Assembly. 

Soon after the Revolution commenced, there began to be formed 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 421 

various political clubs in Paris, the most influential of which was 
the Jacobin Club, — so called from holding its meetings in a convent 
of suppressed Jacobin monies, — which governed Paris and controlled 
the Assembly. On the twenty-first of September, 1792, a new body 
commenced its deliberations ; and, at their first sitting, they abol- 
ished the regal government, and declared France a Republic. So 
Greece, Rome, and France dared to chastise " Royalty." A mighty 
struggle for regular, but free constitutions, is the thread that guides 
our reflections through all this confusion of the affairs of nations. 



PERIOD V. FROM THE REPUBLIC, 5796 A. ¥., AND 1792 A. C, FORWARD, TO 
5864 A. M., AND 1860 A. C. 

REPUBLIC. 

The views of the enemies of royalty were not yet fully satisfied. 
They not only suspended the regal government, but the royal family 
was ah object of their hatred. Accordingly, the whole family was 
immediately imprisoned in the temple. Soon Louis was brought 
before the bar of the Convention, and there charged with supplying 
the enemies of France with money ; of being the author of the 
war waged in the French territory; and of having conspired against 
the liberties of the country, etc., etc. Louis answered these charges 
in a self-possessed and dignified manner. 

Deseze, one of the defenders of the king, made a very pathetic 
appeal in his behalf, rehearsing his excellent measures and purposes 
for his people's good. But the accumulated burdens and horrors 
the nation had suffered at the hands of royalty, still stung them 
with such poignancy, that no smooth speeches could alleviate the 
smart. Both the source and stream from whence these miseries 
came must be dried up. Louis was sentenced to suffer death, by the 
axe of the guillotine, by a vote of twenty-six majority, out of 
seven hundred and twenty-one voters. The king was carried to the 
place of execution, and, as he ascended the scaffold, with a firm 
step, his confessor said to him, " Offspring of St. Louis, ascend to 
heaven!" Louis began a speech, thus : "I die innocent; I forgive 
my enemies ; and you, unfortunate people ! — " At this moment 
the noise of the drums drowned his voice, the executioners seized 
him, and soon the axe of the guillotine severed his head from his 
body, January 21, 1793. 

"No doubt Louis suffered principally for the sins of his prede- 



422 HISTORY OF EMPIRE, 

cessors, and so far he died innocent ; but vengeance for the slaugh- 
tered Huguenots, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the riotings 
of the French tyrants, must fall on somebody, and poor Louis was 
the victim in part. And yet no better state of things followed. 

"REIGN OF TERROR." 

The most conspicuous character in this reign was the notorious 
Robespierre. 

Two factions soon arose in the National Convention, — one known 
as the Mountain Party, because they took the highest seats in the 
Convention hall, the other as the Girondists, their leaders being 
from the department of the Gironde. The leaders in the former 
were Robespierre, Danton, and Marat, depraved and cruel wretches; 
Those of the other party were Brissot, Vergniaud, and Condorcet. 
Besides the horrid massacres of the rich and nobles, and all who 
opposed the revolutionary fury, the different factions fell to devour- 
ing each other, and thus received at each other's hands the doom 
they merited. The Mountain party, having gained the ascendency, 
let themselves loose in cruelty. They condemned and executed 
Queen Maria Antoinette, October 16, 1793 ; also Brissot, Vergniaud, 
and twenty others of the Girondists. The Duke of Orleans, who 
did most to procure the death of Louis, also suffered death by the 
very party he aided to rise in power. 

On motion of Gobet, Archbishop of Paris, they suppressed the 
Christian religion ; decreed death to be an eternal sleep; and that 
the only French deities, hereafter, should be Liberty, Equality, and 
Reason ; established a republican calendar ; abolished the Sabbath, 
and made every tenth day a day of rest. The churches were plun- 
dered of their gold and silver, and the bells melted and cast into can- 
non. The Convention was again divided into two violent parties, 
with Robespierre at the head of one, and Danton, of the Mountain 
party, at the head of the other. Robespierre triumphed again, and 
all his active opponents were guillotined. 

But as doom fell upon royalty, so also was this infidel monster 
overtaken at length. After his condemnation, he attempted to 
destroy himself, but the charge from the pistol lodged in his jaw, 
mangling it fearfully ; and, in the midst of indescribable agony, he 
was led forth to execution, amidst the unsuppressed joy of the pop- 
ulace, and guillotined, with eighty-three of his associates, in July, 
1794. After this the Jacobin clubs were suppressed ; and on Octo- 
ber 26th, 1795, the National Convention closed its sittings, having 
nearly equalled all the monstrosities before them ; and, two days 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 423 

after, the executive power was vested in a Directory of five, and 
the legislative power in two consuls. 

DIRECTORY. 

While these commotions were going on within France, her exiled 
nobles and clergy were stirring up her enemies without, to reek 
vengeance on the nation. The energy of the Republic was equal to 
that of the nation at any time. Notwithstanding the confusion at 
home, the Republican army had conquered the Netherlands, put 
Holland into a dependency of France, and invaded Germany. 

Austria and Prussia espoused the cause of Louis, against the 
Republic, for various reasons, among which was that of self-preser- 
vation. Powerful armies were marched to the borders of France, 
but were repulsed ; for, in 1794, France, without allies, had at com- 
mand a million of fighting men. The government of the Directory 
continued until 1799, when the executive power was vested in three 
consuls, the first of whom was Bonaparte, the second Cambaceres, 
and the third Le Brun. 

Napoleon Bonaparte. — Against France the powers of Europe 
formed six leagues, or " coalitions," to check the threatening aspect 
of things, growing out of the Revolution. In all these but the 
first, this hero of modern times was the master-spirit they had to 
combat, and it took all the powers of Europe several years to sub- 
due him. William Pitt is said to have been the originator and 
manager of these coalitions. He anticipated the turn affairs might 
take, and, by British gold and perseverance, he, through the powers 
of Europe, floored Napoleon at last. The commerce of England at 
this time gave them all the gold necessary for waging this costly war. 

The first coalition was against the Republic, under the Directory, 
in 1793, already noticed, including Austria, Prussia, England, Spain, 
and several others. Against this league France was victorious. In 
1796, the command of the army was given to Bonaparte, when, by 
a series of rapid victories, he conquered Italy, created a new repub- 
lic (the Cis-alpine), and secured the Peace of Campo Formio. After 
this peace, Europe furnished no field for the display of Bonaparte's 
talents ; upon which he made an expedition into Egypt, defeated 
the Mamelukes at the battle of the Pyramids, and took possession 
of Cairo and all the Delta, in 1798. 

England could not rest, and have Egypt a colony of France. 
Accordingly, her fleet was sent against that of France, and victory 
was gained over the latter, by Nelson, in the Bay of Aboukir, off* 
the mouth of the Nile, in 1798. 



424 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

The second coalition was formed against France in 1799, insti- 
gated by England and Russia, joined by the Austrians, headed bv 
the Archduke Charles, and the Russians by Suwarrow. Under the 
Directory the allies made terrible headway. But at this juncture 
Bonaparte was called back from Egypt and Syria ; the Directory 
was dissolved, a new constitution formed, and Bonaparte appointed 
first consul. 

Bonaparte applied himself vigorously at first in restoring order 
in the nation, quelling factions, reforming abuses, and uniting the 
people. After this, he put himself at the head of the army, and 
marched it over the Alps, and defeated the Austrians, under Melas, 
at Marengo, which decided the fate of Italy. This victory, with 
that gained at Hohenlinden over the Austrians, under the French 
general Moreau, led to the Peace of Luneville, with Austria and 
Germany, in 1801, and to that of Amiens, with England, in 1802. 
Russia had previously seceded from the coalition. Thus, for the 
first time since the Revolution, had there been peace in Europe. 
Bonaparte was now raised to the summit of his glory. 

Soon after peace was declared, Bonaparte restored the Catholic 
religion, granted toleration to all religions, and instituted the Legion 
of Honor. A conspiracy was formed against him, which he quickly 
and violently crushed. He was proclaimed Emperor of France in 
1804, and crowned by the Pope. The next year he assumed the 
title of " King of Italy." 

The peace of Amiens was of short duration. War broke out, in 
1803, between England and France, upon the refusal of England to 
give up the island of Malta, the bulwark of Egypt ; and with it 
they held the dominion of the Mediterranean. Upon this refusal, 
Bonaparte seized Hanover, and threatened to invade the British 
Isles. 

In 1805, the third coalition was formed against Bonaparte, by 
England, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Prussia. Bonaparte led the 
French army on, and, by his rapid movements, gained the battle of 
Ulm, defeating the Austrians under Mack, taking 33,000 men pris- 
oners; and next defeated the united forces of Russia and Austria, 
in the battle of Austerlitz, at which battle the three emperors were 
present. This closed the campaign which brought about the Peace 
of Presburg. A few weeks previous to the battle of Austerlitz, the 
English fleet, under Lord Nelson, gained the great victory, off" 
Cape Trafalgar, over the combined fleets of France and Spain. 
Nelson was killed. 

The King of Naples, having permitted a British and Russian army 
to land in his dominions, was deposed by Napoleon, and his own 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 425 

brother, Joseph, placed upon the throne. He also compelled the 
Dutch, of Holland, to receive his brother Louis as king. He next 
set aside the constitution of Germany, and united several states, 
called the "Confederation of the Rhine;" he being chosen Protector. 
He also raised the electors of Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Saxony, to 
the rank of kings. These rapid and bold movements alarmed the 
powers, and immediately the fourth coalition was formed, of the 
same powers as the third. Bonaparte, in his usual haste, faced the 
Prussians, who began hostilities, gained over them the battles of 
Jena and Auerstaclt, entered their capital, and commenced his 
" continental system," against English commerce, by publishing his 
Berlin Decree ; declaring the British Islands in a state of blockade, 
and ordering all ports shut against them. Thence, marching into 
Poland, beat the Russians at Pultusk. 

The following year he defeated the Russians at Friedland, and 
brought about the Peace of Tilsit ; Russia and Prussia acceding to 
his continental system, of shutting out British commerce from the 
Continent. The provinces he took from Prussia he erected into the 
Kingdom of Westphalia, of which Jerome Bonaparte was made 
king. The English government, to meet Bonaparte's Berlin Decree, 
issued their "Orders in Council? compelling all neutral vessels 
trading with France to stop at a British port and pay duty, or be 
confiscated. Upon which, Bonaparte issued his Milan Decree, by 
which every vessel that submitted to British search, or duty, was 
confiscated. Afterward, by his "mad" Decree of Fontainebleau, he 
consigned to the flames all British manufactures, from Naples to 
Holland, and from Spain to Germany. This hurt France more than 
England. Napoleon had now become intoxicated with his suc- 
cesses, and he began to destroy himself. Not content with all 
Europe at his feet, and to have the kings of Spain and Portugal 
acquiesce in his plans, he must invade Spain, seize the king, and 
compel him to give up the crown to Napoleon's brother, Joseph 
Bonaparte, whom he removed from Naples to Spain, and put his 
brother-in-law, Murat, upon the throne of Naples. 

The Spaniards, indignant at this measure, applied to England for 
assistance, and not in vain. This was Bonaparte's first step to his 
ruin, as it opened a field of operation for the British against him on 
the Continent. But for this rashness the Spaniards would have 
kept them off the Continent. But 'twas done! This step opened 
an abyss, that swallowed up alike the French armies and the French 
finances. 

In 1809, while the war in Spain was raging, hostilities broke out 
between France and Austria. Bonaparte met with his usual suc- 

54 



42G HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

cess, and finally defeated the Archduke Charles at Wagram. This 
war ended with the Peace of Vienna; by which Francis II., Em- 
peror of Austria, lost considerable territory, had to accede to the 
" continental system," and promise his daughter Maria Louisa, in 
marriage to his victorious enemy. TVhereupon Bonaparte was 
divorced from his beautiful empress Josephine. (His next fatal 
step to his downfall.) 

The Peace of Tilsit bound Alexander, Emperor of Russia, to 
Bonaparte's great delusion, the "continental system? But he 
found that excluding British goods from his dominions was inju- 
rious to his subjects, and ruinous to his finances, and wished to be 
released from this bond. The year 1811 was spent in negotiations 
and discussions, but nothing satisfactory arrived at on either side. 
Hence, as Alexander was unwilling to keep a bad promise to his 
own hurt, and to Bonaparte's sole advantage ; and Bonaparte hav- 
ing staked all upon his " system," he resolved to whip Russia into 
the keeping of this bad promise. So, early in the spring of 1812, 
Bonaparte collected, in Poland, an immense army, consisting of four 
hundred thousand infantry, sixty thousand cavalry, twelve hundred 
cannon, and, on the the 24th of June, crossing the Niemen, he 
invaded the Russian territories. His march was directed towards 
Moscow, the ancient capital of the empire, and was everywhere 
marked by the desolation and blood found in the trail of an 
invading army. He steadily beat his way into the empire, and the 
Russians as steadily retreated. His chief design was to get into 
Moscow (to winter), and theirs was as steady that he should get 
there (but to be defeated). At the battle of Borodino the Russians 
gave him a terrible resistance, thirty thousand falling on each side ; 
but Napoleon was victor. He then rushed for his winter quarters, 
when, to his utter amazemement, a tremendous fire had been made, 
for the purpose of giving him a warm reception. 

A retreat was suggested, which Napoleon at first disdained, but 
he soon found that the Russians were far from being subdued, and 
were rallying to oppose him ; and, in addition to this, the more 
terrible horrors of a Russian winter were approaching, and, his 
quarters being burnt, he saw that he must retreat or perish. This 
move proved more destructive to the army than the invasion.^ A 
series of sufferings, disasters, and losses followed, amid the snows 
and solitudes of a Russian winter, scarcely, if ever, paralleled in the 
history of war. Nearly thirty thousand horses perished in a day 
from the cold, all the cannon were lost, and only thirty thousand, 
out of four hundred thousand men, survived to re-cross the Niernen ! 
After the French army had returned to the frontiers of Russia, 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 427 

Napoleon left them, and fled, in disguise, through Poland and Ger- 
many, to Paris. Still insane upon maintaining his " continental 
system," he resolved upon another campaign, and raised a fresh 
army of three hundred and fifty thousand men. 

This gave rise to the fifth coalition, composed of Russia, Prus- 
sia, Austria, some of the "Confederates of the Rhine," Sweden, and 
England. Bonaparte again took the command, against Europe. 
He worsted the Allies at the battle of Lutzen, — defeated them at 
Bautzen, — repulsed them at Dresden, where Moreau was killed, — 
but he was utterly routed in the tremendous battle of Leipsic, 
with a loss of forty thousand men. In this " Battle of Nations " the 
combatants exceeded four hundred thousand. Bonaparte again 
fled to Paris, where, in his address to the Senate, he acknowledged 
his defeat, and said, "All Europe was with us a year ago, — 
all Europe is now against us." Failing to arouse the French 
people, he again joined the army, and gave opposition to the Allies, 
who had already crossed the Rhine. After a desperate struggle, 
they penetrated into the heart of France, and finally entered Paris! 
He who had so often dictated conditions of peace to the nations, 
had in turn to be dictated by them, as to his future course. He 
was compelled to abdicate the throne of France; but, retaining his 
title as emperor, he was sent in banishment to the island of Elba, on 
the coast of Italy, which he received with full sovereignty, and a 
pension of two and a half millions from the revenues of France, and 
a body guard of four hundred men. 

Louis XYIIL — Louis XVII. died in 1795. The empire of Na- 
poleon having fallen, Louis XYIIL was restored to the throne of 
his ancestors, after an absence of twenty-three years, spent in Italy, 
Germany, Russia, and finally England. In the same month, three 
other princes returned to their vacated thrones, — Pius VII. to 
Rome, Ferdinand VII. to Madrid, and Victor Emanuel to Turin. 

In order to restore and settle the affairs of Europe, a General 
Congress was called at Vienna, Nov. 1, 1814. Six of the crowned 
heads were present, with a long and splendid list of princes, ambas- 
sadors, and ministers. While engaged in their deliberations, news 
came, like a peal of thunder, that Napoleon was again on the throne 
of France. Escaping from Elba, he landed at Cannes, March 1, 
1815, and in twenty days marched to Paris, with about fifteen 
hundred men, and not a drop of blood shed, where he was received 
with unbounded enthusiasm. Having already abdicated the throne 
to Louis, unconditionally, the Congress at Vienna at once pro- 
nounced him an outlaw, and an enemy of the nations. 

At this event, the sixth and last coalition was formed to over- 



428 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

throw the "man of destiny," composed of almost every nation in 
Europe, small and great. 

A British-German and Prussian army was collected with the 
greatest possible despatch, under command of Wellington and 
Blucher. Bonaparte, knowing that there was no mercy in store 
for him now, was equally vigorous in his preparations to oppose 
force to force. Having an army of one hundred and seventy thou- 
sand men, he pushed on to the encounter, first meeting and forcing 
back Blucher, from Ligny to Wavre. 

Meanwhile, the army of Wellington was drawn up at Waterloo. 
Here the desperate strife, that had been so long ripening, must be 
brought to an issue. Bonaparte commenced the attack, about noon 
the 18th of June, 1815, with great superiority. After a desperate 
conflict for some time, victory was fluctuating about evening, when 
Blucher came up with his auxiliaries, and decided the fate of Europe 
and Bonaparte, in favor of the Allies. Bonaparte fled again to 
Paris, abdicated in favor of his son, and finally surrendered himself 
to Captain Maitland, of the British ship-of-the-line Bellerophon, 
claiming, in a letter to the Prince Regent of England, an asylum, 
" like Themistocles, among the most powerful, most constant, and 
most generous of his enemies." By the unanimous consent of the 
Allied Powers, he was sent a prisoner to the island of St. Helena, 
where he arrived on the 17th of October, 1815 ; and there died, 
May 5, 1821, in the sixth year of his captivity, and the fifty-second 
of his age. 

Few, if any, more wonderful characters appear in the whole 
history of the world, than Napoleon Bonaparte. After his second 
dethronement, Louis XVIII. again took the throne of France, and 
another peace was ratified. The Allies reduced France to its old 
limits before the Revolution ; compelled her to give up much of the 
plunder at Paris, and to pay one hundred and forty million dollars 
as part of the expenses of the war ; also to maintain, for five years, 
an army of occupation, consisting of one hundred and fifty thousand 
of the allied troops, placed in sixteen frontier fortresses. In 1817 
the army of occupation was reduced to one-fifth, and in 1818 wholly 
withdrawn. Murat, who had been raised to the throne of Naples, 
and Marshal Ney, having aided Bonaparte in ascending the throne 
the second time, were both shot. The other principal event in the 
reign of Louis XVIII. was the invasion of Spain by a French army, 
without a declaration of war, by which measures then on foot for a 
more liberal form of government were overthrown, and despotism 
reestablished on its old foundation. 

Charles X. — He was brother of Louis XVIII., and ascended 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 429 

the throne in 1824. It is said of the Bourbons, that they learnt 
nothing during their exile, and forgot nothing ! In his reign, two 
enterprises of foreign war of some importance occurred : one in 
favor of Greece, in which France united with England and Prussia; 
the other was the siege and capture of Algiers by the French, on 
5th July, 1830. Ever since the restoration of the Bourbons, there 
have been repeated contests between the ultra-royalists and liberals. 
The royalists seek to check the spirit of liberty, by monopolizing 
the elections, dissolving the Chambers of Deputies, and restraining 
the liberty of the press. Charles, by too strenuous a use of these 
royal checks, brought upon the nation the revolution of 1830. 

In March 1830 the Chamber of Deputies took a strong stand 
against the ministry, of which Prince JPolignac was the head ; in 
consequence of this the chamber was dissolved by the king ; new 
elections ordered, and the two chambers were convoked for August 
3d. It being ascertained that a large majority of the newly-elected 
members were liberals, on the 26th July three ordinances were 
published by the government, — one dissolving the chamber before 
it had met, another suspending the liberty of the press, the third 
altering the election law ! 

The liberal press being muzzled, the banks refusing to discount 
bills, and the manufacturers discharging their workmen, threw Paris 
into a revolt against the king. The citizens attacked the royal 
troops, and beat out their brains with paving-stones, shot them 
from their windows, and on the 29th of July, the last of the "three 
days," obtained a complete victory over the king's guards. As the 
Bourbon " forgot nothing," the former revolution came to mind ; 
and whilst he thought of the head of Louis XVI., he also thought 
of the head of Charles X., and so took sudden leave of absence. 
The deputies met, August 3d (as they were ordered), and declared 
the throne vacant, and took advice of Lafayette what course to 
pursue. He advised a limited monarchy, and suggested the Duke 
of Orleans for king. The deputies took his advice, and raised the 
duke to the throne in 1830, with the title of Louis Philip. 

For a time things went on well; but a revolution broke out in 
1848, in Paris, which spread all over France. In December of the 
same year, choice was made of the nephew of Napoleon as Presi- 
dent. 

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. — He assumed the duties of the 
office immediately, and thus became the first President of the Re- 
public of France, December 1848. It is well known that Napoleon 
divorced his wife Josephine, because he despaired of her furnishing 
an heir to the French throne. But a magnificent Providence is 



430 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

brought about, by which the abused Josephine is honored with that 
very dignity of which the short-sighted Napoleon judged her in- 
capable. The present emperor is grandson of the beautiful Empress 
Josephine, being son of her daughter Hortense, by her first mar- 
riage. He is only nephew of Napoleon by the marriage of his 
brother Lewis with Hortense. Hence, by the divorce of Josephine, 
Napoleon dropped the substance, and grasped its shadow ! 



Ill — AGE OF WAR FOR OPINION. 

ENGLAND — FROM JULIUS C^SAR TO QUEEN VICTORIA. 
SUBJECT — CIVIL HISTOEY. 

PERIOD I. ER03I ITS EARLY HISTORY, TO THE END 0E THE SAXON HEPTARCHY, 
3919 A.M., AND 55 B. C„ TO 4831 A. IT., AND 827 A.C. 

Early History. — The earliest accounts of this country repre- 
sent the inhabitants as rude and uncivilized, — dressing in the skins 
of beasts, or going entirely naked, with their bodies painted with 
various colors. Hence is supposed the origin of the name Britain, 
from the word brit, which signifies painted. The country was orig- 
inally settled by a colony from Gaul, who were called Celts, or 
Gaels ; the remnants of whom are still found in Wales, the high- 
lands of Scotland, and the north of Ireland. The period of their 
settlement there is quite uncertain. 

The Phoenicians traded very early with the inhabitants of Corn- 
wall, for copper and tin, but were unacquainted with the interior of 
the country. The invasion of Julius Cassar, 55 B. C, forms the 
earliest distinct period in the history of Britain. Armed with clubs, 
spears, and swords, they fiercely attacked the invading Romans, and 
were not subdued for some time. In 43 A. C, Britain was invaded 
by the Emperor Claudius, whose general, Ostorius, defeated Caracta- 
cus, the king of the Britons, took him prisoner, and sent him to Rome 
in 51. In the reign of Nero, 61 A.C, Suetonius defeated JBoadicea, 
Queen of Iceni, — people of Norfolk and Suffolk, — slaying eighty 
thousand men in a single battle. She had, however, gained several 
victories over the Romans, by her gallantry ; she committed suicide, 
to escape her conquerors. The dominion of the Romans was fully 
established in Britain during the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 431 

Domitian, under Agricola, who subdued the Caledonians (Scots), 
and built forts about the Friths of the Clyde and Forth. 

At this time the Britons, though rude, were brave. Wandering, 
as they did, in tribes, they had little else than their cattle and arms. 
Their religion was Druidism. The Druids, their priests, had great 
authority. They taught the transmigration of souls, and offered 
human victims in sacrifice in great numbers. Their places of wor- 
ship, like all idolaters, were in the open air, and consisted of huge 
stone pillars standing in a circle, and a large stone standing in the 
middle, which was used as an altar. 

Suetonius, the Roman general, cut down their sacred groves of 
oak, destroyed their temples, and threw the Druids themselves into 
the fires they had kindled to roast the Romans. The Romans built 
three walls across the island, to prevent the Scots from invading the 
country on the north. The first was built by Adrian, of turf, from 
Solway Frith to the mouth of the Tyne, 121 A. C. ; the second by 
Antoninus, of earth and stone, from the Forth to the Clyde ; the 
third by Severus, of stone, nearly parallel with Adrian's, in 208 
A. C. In 426 A. C. the Romans abandoned Britain, four hundred 
and sixty-five years after the landing of Julius Caesar, by the 
Emperor Valentinian withdrawing his troops from the island. 

SAXON FAMILY. 

The Britons had been so long subject to Rome, that when left to 
themselves, they were unprepared for self-defence, and fell a prey 
to the Scots and Picts. In this dilemma they applied to the 
Saxons — a race of warriors living in the north of Germany — to 
aid them against their enemies. An army of one thousand six 
hundred men was sent, commanded by two brothers, Hengist and 
Horsa, and the Scots were driven back to their own territories. 
The Saxons, finding the country a better one than their own, sent 
for a reinforcement of five thousand men, Saxons and Anglos, con- 
quered the Britons, and took possession of the country. From the 
Anglos, it was called England. Fierce contests soon arose between 
the Britons and Saxons, in which Arthur, a British champion, de- 
feated the Saxons in twelve engagements. The Saxons, however, 
finally triumphed, and in about one hundred and fifty years formed 
what is called the Saxon Heptarchy / i. e., England was divided 
into seven states, and governed by seven kings. This arrangement 
lasted about two hundred years, in turmoil and blood. 

Egbert. — In 827 A. C, Egbert, the last of the Saxon kings, suc- 
ceeded, by his valor and prudence, in uniting under one govern- 



432 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ment the seven states, and making himself the king, and hence the 
first king, of England. In 597 Augustine, or Austin, was sent to 
England as a missionary. Gildas, a native of Wales, the most 
ancient of British writers, wrote his famous " Epistle," in 560 A. C, 
in which he censures the depravity of the Britons most severely. 

Being the last of the descendants of the Saxon kings, Egbert 
looked upon their whole realm as his by right. Though successful 
in this scheme of monopoly, he soon found more difficult work out- 
side to do. The Danes, or Normans, who had for fifty years 
molested the English coast, now became more formidable than ever, 
and twice, during the reign of Egbert, attempted an invasion, but 
were repulsed with great slaughter. Egbert was educated at the 
Court of Charlemagne. 



PERIOD II. EROAI THE END OF THE HEPTARCHY, 4831 A. II., AND 827 A. C, TO 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 5070 A. II, AND 1066 A. C. 

Ethelwolf. — The death of Egbert, and the yielding disposition 
of Ethelwolf, encouraged the Danes to renew their attacks. They 
were often repelled, but could not be quieted. 

Ethelwolf granted titles to the priesthood, with exemption from 
all services and imposts. A sort of Pepin. He left four sons; to 
two of them he bequeathed the sceptre. 

Ethelbald and Ethelbebt. — This joint reign was short; only 
from 857 to 866. 

Ethexeed I. — To this third son the sceptre fell. He died in 
battle, bravely fighting with the Danes, 872 A. C. 

Alfeed the Great. — This excellent king was fourth son of 
Ethelwolf, and came to the British throne in 872, at the age of 
twenty two. He found the kingdom in a very distracted condition 
within, and threatened by invasions without. He set himself reso- 
lutely at work to repel and silence the Danes. In one year he 
defeated them in eight battles. But, by a new irruption, they ex- 
tended their ravages, and forced him to solicit a peace. Alfred was 
obliged to seek his safety, for many months, in an obscure part of 
the country, disguised in the habit of a peasant, and living in a 
herdsman's cottage as a servant. In this humble situation, the 
herdsman's wife set him, on one occasion, to watch some cakes 
which were baking by the fire ; but he forgot his charge, and let 
them burn, for which she gave him a severe reprimand. 

Venturing from his retreat, he entered the Danish camp as a 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 433 

piper, in order to ascertain their position and readiness for defence. 
His talents as a player excited so much interest that he was intro- 
duced to Guthrum, the Danish prince, and remained with him 
several days. This gave him all he sought. Finding that success 
had rendered them remiss, he returned to his adherents, rallied a 
large force, and encouraged them to the attack. Falling upon the 
Danes in an unguarded condition, and by a surprise he defeated 
them with great slaughter. Instead, however, of cutting them all 
off, he incorporated many of them among his English subjects. 

Alfred next turned his attention to regulating the internal affairs 
of the kingdom. He patronized learning and the arts, encouraged 
manufactures, and appropriated one-seventh of his revenue to re- 
pairing public buildings, ruined cities and castles, and founded the 
University of Oxford. But his greatest work was in regulating the 
administration of justice, and establishing peace. To do this, he 
divided the country into counties, " hundreds " (probably towns), 
and tithings ; ten householders formed a tithing, who were answer- 
able for each other's conduct, over whom a head borough (judge) 
was appointed. Every man was registered in some tithing, and 
could not change his habitation without a certificate from the head 
borough. 

In the decision of differences, the head borough assembled his 
tithing to assist him*. In affairs of great moment, or of contro- 
versies between different tithings, the case was brought before the 
Court of the Hundred, in which twelve men were chosen to do im- 
partial justice (the origin of juries). This court met every four 
weeks. The County Court met twice a year, and consisted of free- 
holders ; to this appeals could be made from the courts of hundred 
(or towns). The ultimate appeal from these several courts lay to 
the King in Council. The institutions he founded are regarded 
with very high favor in England to the present day. His code of 
laws is considered the origin of the Common Law. And still he 
seems to have followed out simply the plan suggested to Moses by 
his father-in-law. 

Alfred also spent much of his time in translating the best books 
of the age into the Saxon language, for the benefit of his people. 
Though a Catholic, he sought the good of his people in enlighten- 
ing them, instead of making " ignorance the mother of devotion." 
He is regarded as one of the greatest and best sovereigns that ever 
sat on a throne. He died in 900 A. C. 

Edward the Elder. — He succeeded his father in 901. His 
reign was a continued and successful struggle against the Northum- 
brians and Danes. 

55 



434 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Athelstax, — Son of Edward, succeeded him in 925. He con- 
tinued the wars of his father, and was successful also against the 
Scots, Irish, and Welsh. 

He caused the noble work of translating the Scriptures into the 
Saxon tongue to be done ; the earliest version of the Bible in the 
language of Britain. He conferred the title of thane, or gentle- 
man, on every merchant who made three voyages to the Mediterra- 
nean on his own account. 

Edmund I., — Son of Edward, came to the throne in 941. After 
reigning five years, he was assassinated by the robber Leolf. 

Edked, — Another son of Edward, began his reign in 948. He 
was successful against the northern invaders, but became the stupid 
dupe of the artful and aspiring Dunstan, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, afterwards canonized as saint. 

Edwy, — Nephew of Edred, filled the throne, 955. He married 
Elgiva, a beautiful princess, nearly related to him, at which Dunstan 
took offence. Archbishop Odo, with a band of soldiers, seized El- 
giva, burned her face with a hot iron, and forcibly carried her into 
Ireland. In attempting to escape to her husband, she was again 
taken into the custody of the brutal Odo, who ordered her to be 
mutilated in such a shocking manner, that she died in a few days, 
in the sharpest torments. 

Edgar, — Youngest brother of Edwy, ascended the throne in 
959. His character was odious ; but, by raising Dunstan to the 
archbishopric of Canterbury, and paying him a forced homage, 
Edgar managed to accomplish his governmental ends. 

Upon hearing of the exquisite beauty of the daughter of the 
Earl of Devonshire, Edgar sent his favorite Ethelwold to ascertain 
the truth of the report, with a view of marrying her in case she 
proved to be possessed of the beauty described. Ethelwold, being 
captivated by her beauty himself, conceived the plot of returning 
an unfavorable report to the king, and thereby seek her for himself. 
Accordingly, he informed the king that her beauty had been greatly 
exaggerated ; at the same time intimating that he had a desire to 
marry her himself, on account of her wealth, if the king wished to 
make no further suit. The king declined, and Ethelwold took the 
prize. 

Being a little curious to know personally the truth of the case, 
Edgar asked an introduction to his friend's rich wife. Ethelwold, 
fearing the result, made known to his wife what happened before 
their marriage, and desired her to conceal her beauty while in the 
presence of the king. Elfrida, now finding the tables had turned in 
her favor, resolved to regain the crown she had lost through the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 435 

treachery of her husband, who had belied her beauty, — a grave of- 
fence in times of chivalry. Hence, upon appearing before the king, 
she arrayed herself so as to set forth her charms to the best possible 
advantage. The king's heart was taken ; and, not long after, while 
out hunting, unfortunately, (?) the king's weapon pierced the body 
of Ethelwold. The sad event was duly solemnized by the marriage 
of Edgar and Elfrida. 

Ed ward the Martyr. — He was son of Edgar by his first mar- 
riage ; but he was assassinated, at the instigation of the beautiful 
Elfrida, 978. From the manner of his death, he was called the 
martyr. 

Ethelred II. — He was son of Edgar by Elfrida, and came to 
the throne at eleven years of age, in 978. The murder of Edward 
was, doubtless, to make way for Ethelred. Elfrida made herself 
quite conspicuous in the affairs of the throne. 

The Danes having renewed their ravages, the king proceeded to 
measures of severity, by massacreing, at the festival of St. Brice, all 
those Danes who had been incorporated into the English nation by 
Alfred the Great. The news of this piece of barbarity arriving in 
Denmark, every bosom was fired with revenge. A large army of 
Danes, under Sweyn, soon invaded the country. 

Sweyn. — He was grandson of Beatrice, daughter of Edward 
the Elder. Ethelred fled to Normandy, when Sweyn was pro- 
claimed King of England, 1015. Dying soon after, Ethelred was 
again restored ; but he died, also, in a short time. 

Edmund II., Ironside. — He was son of Ethelred, and was called 
Ironside from his strength and valor ; but his abilities were not 
equal to the times that called for their exercise. Upon the death 
of Sweyn, his son Canute was proclaimed King of England by the 
Danes. 

DANISH KINGS. 

Canute I. the Great. — He at once maintained his right to the 
crown of England by force of arms. After a severe contest, he 
compelled Edmund to divide the sovereignty with him. Edmund 
was soon after murdered by Edric his brother-in-law, and Canute 
became sole monarch, 1017. He proved to be the most powerful 
sovereign of his time. He pursued the policy of amalgamating the 
Danes and Saxons. In the former part of his reign he was severe 
and arbitrary, but more mild and pacific toward the close. 

Harold I., Harefoot. — He was son of Canute, and was called 
Harefoot from his swiftness in running. He ascended the throne 
in 1036. 



436 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Canute II. — He was brother of Harold, and began his reign in 
1039. These two reigns were short, unimportant, and both brothers 
died without issue. So ended the Danish dynasty. 

Edward the Confessor. — Upon the death of Canute II., the 
English freed themselves from the Danish yoke, and restored the 
Saxon line, in the person of Edward, son of Ethelred, and grand- 
son of Elfricla, 1041. Edward's excellence consisted in an ability 
to conciliate the monks, and hence he was surnamed " Confessor? 
and was canonized. He was the first English king whose touch was 
said to cure scrofula, or King's Evil. This superstition continued 
with the kings of England until the Revolution of 1638. Edward 
was the last of the Saxon kings, and died without issue, and in his 
will left the crown to William, Duke of Normandy. 

Harold II. — In the meantime, the nobility and clergy pro- 
claimed Harold, great-grandson of Sweyn, king, 1065. William 
determined to maintain his right to the crown by force of arms ; 
and, from the greatness of the prize to be gained, he soon raised a 
vast army, accompanied by a large number of princes and notables 
of the age. With an army of sixty thousand men, he set sail for the 
English coast. On the field of Hastings he was met by Harold, with 
an army nearly as large. In that memorable battle the Normans 
lost fifteen thousand men, while the English army was nearly all cut 
ofi^ and Harold slain. Hence William is surnamed the "Conqueror? 



PERIOD m. EROtf WILLIA1T THE C0XQXER0R, 5070 A 3L, AND 1066 A. C, TO 
HENRY VIII, 5513 A. M., 1509 A. C. 

THE NORMAN FAMILY. 

William the Conqueror. — By him the Norman family as- 
cended the throne of England. In personal appearance William 
was tall and strong ; hardly any one could bend his bow, or wield 
his armor. 

Being a man of might, and having to subdue the nation whose 
throne had been bestowed upon him by will, he was naturally in- 
clined to make his power felt. Hence he departed from the policy 
of good Alfred, and bestowed all the offices of the government 
upon his Norman followers, to the great disgust of the nation. He 
forced upon the nation the use of the Norman language in the ser- 
vices of the church, and in the courts of justice. He introduced 
the feudal system, instead of the wholesome regulations of Alfred. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 437 

For trial by jury, he substituted that of single combat, or the duel. 
He compelled the people to extinguish their fires at the sound of 
the curfew (fire-covering) bell, at eight o'clock in the evening. By 
his forest laws he reserved to himself the right of killing game 
throughout the kingdom. He formed a New Forest by depopulat- 
ing a tract of country, thirty miles in circuit, demolishing thirty-six 
parish churches, and the houses of the inhabitants. 

One useful act of his was the establishment of the Doomsday 
2?oo7c. In this a record w r as made of all the lands and estates of the 
kingdom, with an estimate of their value, and an enumeration of 
every class of persons residing upon them. 

His son Robert stirred up a rebellion against his father, in an at- 
tempt to wrest from him the sovereignty of Maine. In one battle 
Robert and his father encountered each other, and were not aware 
of it, until William, being dismounted from his horse, cried for as- 
sistance, when Robert recognized his father's voice, desisted from 
the strife, and aided him on to his own horse. They soon became 
reconciled. In a war waged against Philip I. of France, to punish 
him for aiding this rebellion, William was accidentally killed by a 
fall from his horse, 1087. 

William II. — He was son of the Conqueror ; was called Mufus, 
from his red hair; and came to the throne in 1087. He inherited 
little else from his father than his vices. After a reign of thirteen 
years, which was disturbed by insurrections, and by quarrels with 
the ecclesiastics, particularly with Anselm the Primate, he was acci- 
dentally shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel, w r ith an arrow aimed at a stag, 
in the New Forest. Tyrrel, from fear of the consequences, fled im- 
mediately to, France, so that the king's body was not found for some 
days after. The great works which perpetuate the name of Rufus, 
are the Tower, Westminster Abbey, and London Bridge. 

Henry I. — He was younger brother of William II., and as- 
cended the throne in 1100. He was surnamed JBeauclerc, or scholar, 
because he was able to write his name. His brother Robert was 
the rightful heir, but he being absent on a crusade, Henry seized 
the throne. Robert was Duke of Normandy ; and, upon his return 
from the Holy War, Henry invaded his realm, took Robert prisoner, 
brought him to England, caused his eyes to be burned out, and then 
confined him for life in a castle in Wales. 

Henry married Matilda of Scotland, a Saxon princess, great-grand- 
daughter of Edmund Ironside, and thus united the Saxon and Nor- 
man blood. This endeared him to the English, and secured to him 
their support. His usurpation of the throne was singularly punished 
in the death of his son William. In his passage from Normandy to 



438 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

England, the captain and seamen getting drunk, ran theirvessel on a 
rock. William was saved by being put into a longboat ; but, while 
leaving the wreck, he heard the cries of his natural sister, the Coun- 
tess of Perche, and ordered the seamen to row back, in hope of sav- 
ins: her. But the numbers who then crowded into the boat, soon 
sunk it, and the prince and all his retinue perished. It is said that 
Henry was never known to smile, after this catastrophe. 

Stephen (Blois). — He was cousin of Henry, and was crowned 
King of England, 1135. By right it belonged to Matilda, daughter 
of the late king, and her son Henry ; but Stephen, being a popular 
and talented nobleman, and distinguished for his ambition, valor, 
generosity, and courtesy, seized upon the crown. 

The Earl of Gloucester, natural brother of Matilda, took up arms 
in her behalf, defeated Stephen in the battle of Lincoln, and made 
him prisoner. The earl was soon after defeated, taken prisoner, 
and exchanged for the king, and Matilda forced to leave the coun- 
try. Four years after, young Prince Henry, Matilda's son, invaded 
England. The aristocracy dreaded the carnage that must follow, 
interfered, and brought the rival princes to a negotiation ; and 
the succession was secured to Henry, after the death of Stephen, 
which took place the next year. 

FAMILY OF PLANTAGENET. 

Henry II. — He succeeded to the throne in 1154, and was the 
first of the Plantagenets ; his mother, Matilda, having married, first, 
Henry V., Emperor of Germany, and afterwards she married 
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou — Henry being her oldest son. 
In Henry's veins flowed the mingled blood of the Saxon kings of 
England and the Norman family. 

Henry was called iShortmantle, from introducing short cloaks from 
France into England. Besides inheriting England, Henry obtained 
possession, also, of nearly half of France, by his marriage with 
Eleanor, heiress of the Duchy of Guienne ; and, during his reign, 
conquered Ireland. So he had the greatest possessions of any 
monarch hitherto on the British throne. 

Seeing a necessity for restraining the assumptions of the eccle- 
siastics, he framed the Constitutions of Clarendon, which gave 
prerogatives to the king. To these the bishops generally gave in 
their consent, except Thomas a JBecket, first Chancellor, afterwards 
Archbishop of Canterbury, who refused to submit to these rules, 
and sought to incite the other bishops to resistance. After endur- 
ing his insults a long time, Henry at last burst into a rage at his 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 439 

audacity, and complained of those who had been favored by him, 
that " their want of zeal left him exposed to the machinations of 
that insolent priest." At this, four of his knights pursued Becket 
into the Cathedral of St. Benedict, and, while before the altar, clove 
his head with many blows. For this affair Henry did ample pen- 
ance at Becket' s grave, and submitted to scourging on the bare back 
by the monks. Thousands visited his tomb, condoling his martyr- 
dom to the cause of the church. 

Upon an insurrection in Ireland, Henry being solicited to render 
aid, did so, and then, Saxon-like, annexed the island to the English 
crown, in 1172. His new measures, of government were, finally, at 
the request of the Irish nation, extended over the whole kingdom. 
The occasion of the greatest unhappiness to Henry was his illicit 
love for the '-'•Fair Rosamond" reported to have been the hand- 
somest woman ever seen in England. Indignant at his voluptuous- 
ness, Eleanor, his queen, sought revenge by instigating his four sons 
to revolt against him. Being assisted by the King of France (her 
object was to wrest the crown from Henry), she gave him infinite 
trouble. The rebellion broke out in Henry's French territories; 
but he soon quelled it, and, returning to England, soon conquered 
the Scots, who assisted the young princes. This peace, however, 
was of short duration ; for his sons again revolted, and were now 
aided by John, the king's youngest and favorite son. Henry, dis- 
tracted with care, and overcome with the ingratitude of his sons, 
died of a broken heart, aged 58, and 35th year of his reign. 

Henry is ranked among the ablest and most useful sovereigns 
that ever sat on the throne of England ; though he governed the 
kingdom better than he did his own passions. He was a patron of 
the arts, particularly of the Gothic style of architecture ; and intro- 
duced many improvements in the conveniences and comforts of life. 
Though at this time even glass windows were regarded as marks 
of great magnificence. The houses of London, even, were made of 
wood, with paper or lattice windows, and the floors covered with 
straw, and without chimneys. It is said of Becket, that while he 
was Chancellor, nobody excelled him in refinement and splendor; 
for " every day in winter, he had his apartments strewed with clean 
hay or straw, and, in summer, with rushes or leaves, so that those 
who came to pay him court might not soil their fine clothes by 
sitting on a dirty floor " ! 

Bjchaed I. — He succeeded his father, Henry II., in 1189. He 
commenced his reign by a persecution of the Jews. His greatest 
exploit was his campaign in the Holy Wars. He defeated the heroic 
Saladin, at Ascalon, where forty thousand Saracens fell. On his way 



440 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

homeward, being shipwrecked, he attempted to pass through Ger- 
many in disguise, but was taken, and imprisoned by the emperor, and 
was ransomed by his subjects for $1,500,000. He died, shortly after, 
of a wound received at the siege of the Castle Chaluz, France. 

Richard, for his valor, was styled the modern Achilles ; it being 
almost his only merit. Even a century after his death, his name 
was employed by the Saracen cavalier to chide his horse, and by 
the Saracen mother to terrify her children. He impoverished his 
kingdom to bathe his laurels in blood. No cause of humanity or 
righteousness was advanced by the reign of Richard I., though 
"Lion-hearted? 

John. — He was brother to Richard, and succeeded him in 1199, 
surnamed Lackland, His nephew, Arthur, being the rightful heir, 
was supported by the King of France, but, it is supposed, was 
murdered by John. On this account, the French king deprived 
him of all his English possessions in France ; hence the name Lack- 
land. 

In consequence of using some of the funds of the church for his 
own purposes, John brought upon himself the wrath of the haughty 
and tyrannical Pontiff, Innocent III. At first, John was obstinate; 
but when his kingdom was laid under an interdict, himself excom- 
municated, and his subjects absolved from their allegiance, John 
curled up, and, on his knees, before the Pope's legate, Pandulf, sur- 
rendered his kingdom to the Holy See, consenting to hold it as the 
Pope's vassal. As John paid over part of the tribute, the sacerdotal 
tyrant stamped on the money, to indicate the subjection of the 
kingdom. 

But John, in making a friend of the Pope, made sworn enemies 
of his barons. Under Langton, the Primate, a confederacy was 
formed, and a ratification of a charter of privileges was demanded 
of him, formerly given by Henry I. At first, John refused, and 
with greater effrontery than he dared to show the Pope. At this 
his insulted and sold barons proceeded to open war. 

To this demand of his subjects he yielded a reluctant assent; 
and, meeting them at Runnymede, after a few days of debate, on 
the 19th of June, 1215, he signed the famous deed called "Magna 
Charta" (the Great Charter). This secured important liberties 
and privileges to every order of men in the kingdom, and is re- 
garded as the bulwark of English liberty. Among the most impor- 
tant things secured, were, stringent exemption of the people from 
levies, without the consent of the General Council. No person 
shall be tried on suspicion alone, but on the evidence of lawful wit- 
nesses ; and all such trials shall be before the man's peers or equals, 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 441 

and the laws of the land. This step is noted as the opening scene 
in the long and fierce contests between the kings and people of 
England, respecting the prerogatives of the crown and the rights 
of the subjects; by which, eventually, Charles I. lost his head by 
the axe. Indeed, Magna Charta may be regarded as the shep- 
herd's anthem, sung at the rise of the star of civil liberty ; or the 
English baron's Declaration of Independence. It is the insignia of 
a batch of sentiments, which tyrants could not then, have not been 
able since, and never will, to all ages, be able to trample under foot. 
Freemen can't be enslaved ! He also granted, i. e., was compelled to 
sign, the " Charter of the Forest," which abolished the exclusive 
right of the king to kill game all over the kingdom. These con- 
cessions of John were, however, made in " Punic faith," as he 
immediately after sought revenge upon his barons through the aid 
of foreign mercenaries, during which time he suddenly died. He 
is represented as the most odious and capricious tyrant that ever 
sat on the British throne ; adding to his cowardice, levity, licen- 
tiousness, ingratitude, and treachery. Indeed, his very perfidy 
opened the eyes of the nation to the fact that they were unsafe in 
the hands of a king. 

Henry III. — He was son of John, and began to reign, at nine 
years of age, in 1216 — the Earl of Pembroke being appointed Pro- 
tector during Henry's minority. He was a weak, fickle monarch, 
timid in danger, presumptuous in prosperity, and governed by un- 
worthy favorites. His long reign of fifty-six years was one of turbu- 
lence, arising chiefly from contests for sovereignty between the king 
and people. He violated the " Charter " by confiscating the estates 
of some of the nobles without a court of their peers. He justified 
himself in this, by referring to similar injustice practised by the 
nobility and clergy. To which it was replied, " You, sir, ought to 
set them an example." Thus royalty was made to feel that right, 
not might, should prevail. But he paid little regard to right other 
than to use his might, and with little reference to anybody's weal 
but his owii. 

In consequence of his disregard of his barons, they formed a confed- 
eracy, with the Earl of Leicester at their head, to take the reins of 
government out of the hands of their unworthy king. Twenty-four 
of them compelled Henry to resign the regal power to them. These 
divided the government offices among themselves, new-modelled 
the Parliament, by summoning a certain number of knights from 
each county. 

Upon this a civil war broke out, for the purpose of restoring the 
king ; but Leicester, at the head of a large force, defeated the 

56 



442 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

royalists at the battle of Lewes, and took the king and his son pris- 
oners. He then compelled Henry, like John, to (do what he hated 
to) ratify his authority by a solemn (?) treaty. Leicester then 
assumed the regency, called a Parliament, summoning two knights 
from each shire, and deputies from the principal boroughs. This 
being the first instance of representatives being sent to Parliament 
from the boroughs, is regarded as the origin of the "House of 
Commons;'''' i. e., Representatives. Hence this important branch 
of a free government had its origin among the people, not kings 
and nobles; a direct fruit of the Great Charter. 

Edward, the young prince, having regained his liberty, took the 
field against Leicester ; defeated and slew him in the famous battle 
of Evesham. Henry was again restored ; but the latter part of his 
reign was one of oppression and turbulence. Like Uriah of old, 
Henry was placed in the front of the battle of Evesham; but, after 
being wounded, he cried out, " I am Henry of Winchester, your 
king ! " His life was spared. 

Edward I. (Loxgshaxks). — He was crowned in 1272. He 
immediately set himself about correcting the disorders caused by 
the civil commotions during the reign of his father. His first 
measure, however, was one of severity; he caused two hundred 
and eighty Jews to be hanged at once in London, and fifteen thou- 
sand were robbed of their effects and banished from the kingdom, 
on charge of corrupting the coin. His next enterprise was the 
invasion of Wales. After killing Llewellyn, the Welsh prince, and 
the flower of his army, the nobility of Wales submitted to him in 
1283. Wales was then added to the British crown, and Edward 
created his eldest son " Prince of Wales," a title ever since borne 
by the oldest sons of the English monarchs. 

He then meditated the conquest of the whole island. The death 
of Alexander III., of Scotland, opened the way for this desire to be 
gratified. Alexander leaving no son, Bruce and Baliol were compet- 
itors for the crown, and Edward was chosen umpire. He adjudged 
the crown to Baliol, who agreed to hold it as vassal of the King 
of England. Baliol, soon after, renounced his allegiance, where- 
upon arose a war between England and Scotland, lasting seventy 
years, and drenched both kingdoms in blood. To punish Baliol, 
Edward invaded Scotland, defeated the Scots with great slaughter 
at the battle of Dunbar, and carried Baliol a prisoner to London. 

During Edward's absence, and war in France, the Scots were 
aroused to the recovery of their independence by Sir William 
Wallace. The envy of the Scotch nobles toward Wallace as gov- 
ernor of the country under Baliol, divided them, and exposed them 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 443 

to another attack from the English. Edward in person conducted 
the campaign, and defeated the Scots at the battle of Falkirk. 
Wallace was at last betrayed, carried a prisoner to London, where 
he was put to death with barbarous cruelty. The Scots submitted 
to Edward. 

Robert Bruce, grandson of the former Bruce, was raised to the 
throne, after having expelled the British from the country. Edward 
prepared for a new invasion of the country, but died, on his jour- 
ney, at Carlisle. 

Edward is regarded as one of England's best kings, being an 
eminent warrior and wise legislator. He has been styled the Eng- 
lish Justinian. Still he was only a restrained tyrant. The national 
code, and the administration of justice, were greatly improved 
during his reign. Magna Charta was repeatedly ratified, and an 
important clause added, which protected the people from the im- 
position of any tax without the consent of Parliament. Since that 
time there has been a regular succession of English Parliaments. 
Civil liberty is a darling thing to the people, and a daring thing 
to tyrants. It is not a little remarkable, that while Royalty was 
being humbled in England, during this century, Popery was re- 
ceiving its death-wound in France, under Philip IV. and the Prag- 
matic sanction. Thus civil and religious liberty began their dawn, 
in the darkest part of the dark ages, while Chivalry, Popeiy, and 
Royalty, were all at their zenith. 

Edward II. — He succeeded his father in 1307. In compliance 
with his father's dying injunction, he invaded Scotland. With an 
army of one hundred thousand men, he was met at Bannockburn 
by thirty thousand Scots, under Robert Bruce. Bruce had chosen 
a position where his right flank was covered by a hill, his left by a 
morass, and in his front he had dug pits, filled them with stakes, 
and covered them with turf. The English, confident in their 
superior numbers, rushed to the conflict. Their cavalry was en- 
tangled in the pits ; their ranks were broken ; when the Scottish 
horse, pouring through the breaches, scattered slaughter and dis- 
may on every side. The English threw down their arms, and fled. 
This was the most signal defeat the English had sustained since the 
battle of Hastings ; in consequence of which Robert Bruce was 
established on the throne of Scotland, 1314. 

The reign of Edward was characterized by the corruption of the 
court, and contests and war between the barons and the king. His 
greatest sorrow arose from his queen, Isabella, sister of the French 
king, who ceased to care for him, and set her affections on Morti- 
mer, a powerful young baron. Trouble arising among the barons 



444 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

on her account, she and her paramour fled to France. In their 
absence they managed to form a party in England, so that on their 
return, with some French troops, they compelled the king to resign 
the crown to his son, then only fourteen years old. Edward was 
thrown into prison. At the instigation of Mortimer and the queen, 
he was murdered by the keepers, who thrust a red-hot iron into 
his bowels until he was internally consumed. The defeat he suf- 
fered by Bruce, and the desertion of Isabella, rendered the life of 
Edward II. keenly miserable. 

Ed ward III. — He succeeded his father, at fourteen years of age, 
in 1327. A regency of twelve persons was appointed during his 
minority, but chiefly controlled by Isabella and Mortimer. But 
Edward, on coming of age, disposed of the guilty pair in a sum- 
mary manner. Mortimer was condemned by Parliament, and hanged 
upon a gibbet. Isabella was imprisoned for life at Castle Risings, 
and continued for twenty-eight years, a miserable monument of 
blasted ambition. Edward was successful against the Scots in the 
battle of Halidown Hill. 

Upon the death of Charles IV. of France, Edward claimed the 
throne of France, being the son of Isabella, the daughter of Philip 
IV. of France. But the French nation chose to have Philip of 
Yalois, cousin of Charles, ascend the throne. .Edward prepared to 
maintain his claim by force of arms. Setting sail from England 
with a fleet of two hundred and fifty sail, he encountered that of 
France, of four hundred sail, off the coast of Flanders, where he 
gained one of the greatest naval victories recorded in history : 
losing four thousand men and two ships, while the French lost 
thirty thousand men and two hundred and thirty ships. 

He then invaded France, at the head of thirty thousand men, 
and gained the battle of Cressy, over Philip, whose army amounted 
to one hundred thousand men, and his loss over thirty thousand. 

This is noted as the first battle in English history in which can- 
non were used, — the secret of the great victory. Here the Black 
Prince, then only sixteen years old, distinguished himself for mil- 
itary genius. Edward afterward besieged and took Calais, which 
remained in possession of the English until Mary. 

While Edward was in France the Scots invaded England, under 
their king David, but were defeated, near Durham, by Philippa, 
Edward's heroic queen, and David was led captive to London. 
John of France took the field against the Black Prince (so called 
from wearing black armor) with sixty thousand men, and the 
prince had only sixteen thousand, when the victory of Poictiers 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 445 

was gained, and John taken prisoner to London, where he was 
kept fellow-captive with David of Scotland. 

Edward, becoming indolent and dissipated in his latter days, saw 
all his conquests return to those from whom he had wrested them. 
The Black Prince, falling into consumption, had to resign the com- 
mand of the army, when Charles Y. recovered all the French pos- 
sessions except Calais. Glittering as were the reign and victories 
of Edward III. and his son the prince, yet he lived to see the 
glitter fade. The early death of his son he survived but a short 
time. In his reign chivalry was at its zenith in England ; and 
among all the virtues of the knightly train in courtesy, munifi- 
cence, gallantry, and magnanimity, Edward III. and his son the 
Black Prince were foremost. Their court was the sun of that 
system which embraced the valor and nobility of the Christian 
world. 

Richard II. — He was son of the Black Prince, and succeeded 
to the throne, at eleven years of age, in 1377. 

A regency was appointed, consisting of the young king's three 
uncles, the dukes of Lancaster, York, and Gloucester. Their quar- 
rels distracted the kingdom. The Duke of Lancaster, John of 
Ghent, was the most powerful, but became unpopular with the 
courtiers for being the protector of Wickliffe, the English Reformer, 
whose opposition to the corruptions and tyranny of Rome had 
made him very conspicuous. 

Another measure brought on the " Wat Tyler insurrection." The 
kings and nobles, having wasted their resources in bootyless wars, 
applied to Parliament to replenish their empty coffers by levying a 
tax of six cents on every male and female above fifteen years of 
age. Complaints soon followed that it was unjust to exact an 
equal sum from rich and poor ; but collectors were sent out. 
One of the brutal tax-gatherers having demanded payment from a 
blacksmith's daughter, the father declared her under the taxable 
age. He was proceeding to improper familiarities with her, when 
the father dashed out his brains with a hammer. The action 
being applauded by the spectators, a spirit of sedition spread 
through the kingdom, and soon one hundred thousand insurgents 
were assembled, under Wat Tyler, on Black-heath. The taxes 
being remitted, peace was restored. 

About this time another battle was fought between the English, 
under Percy (Hotspur), and the Scotch, under Douglas, at Otter- 
burn, in which Douglas was killed, and Percy taken prisoner. On 
this battle is founded the ballad Chevy Chace. 

Richard had banished Henry, son of the Duke of Lancaster, and 



•A4G HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

upon the death of the duke, had seized his estate. During the 
absence of Richard on an expedition against Ireland (an insur- 
rection there), Henry returned to England ; soon raised a large 
army, and compelled Richard, on his return, to resign the crown. 
The king being detested, Parliament countenanced the usurpation. 
Richard was thrown into prison, and starved to death. 

BRANCH OF LANCASTER. 

Henry IY. — He was Duke of Lancaster, and came to the throne 
in 1400. His father was John of Ghent, the fourth son of Edward 
III. ; but Edmund Mortimer, son of Lionel, of the house of York, 
third son of Edward III., was the true heir. 

A revolt soon followed, headed by the Earl of Northumberland, 
in which the enemies of the usurper were joined by the Scotch 
and Welsh ; but their united forces were defeated at Shrewsbury, 
and their leader, Percy (Hotspur, so called for his fiery temper), 
was killed. A second rebellion followed, headed by the Arch- 
bishop of York, which was quelled by the capital punishment of 
its author. 

While a subject, it was supposed Henry had imbibed the religious 
principles of his father, John of Ghent, the patron of WicMiffe 
and his followers. But when raised to power, or when he had 
usurped the power, he sought the favor of the court clergy, by 
suppressing the opinions his father had supported. And here let 
it stand upon the page of history, that the royal usurper, Henry 
IV., was the first English monarch who burnt his subjects on account 
of religion. His usurpation and despotism filled him with jealousy 
and remorse, the fruit of his own sowing. He felt what Shaks- 
peare wrote: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 

His son Henry, Prince of Wales, gave him a vast amount of 
trouble. One of the prince's dissolute companions, having been 
indicted before Chief Justice Sir William Gascoigne for some 
misdemeanor, Henry was so exasperated at the issue of the trial 
that he struck the judge in open court. The magistrate, mindful 
of the dignity of his office, ordered the prince to be committed to 
prison. Henry quietly submitted, and acknowledged his error. 
The king, on hearing of this circumstance, exclaimed, in a transport 
of joy, "Happy is the king who has a magistrate endowed with 
courage to execute the laws upon such an offender; still more 
happy in having a son willing to submit to such chastisement." 

Henry V. — He came to the throne, after his father, in 1413. 
He immediately assembled his riotous companions, and informed 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 447 

them of his purpose of reformation in manners, and assured them 
that all who wished his future good-will must imitate him in the 
same, and made liberal presents to such as seconded his proposal. 
He commended the Chief Justice for his impartial conduct, and 
encouraged him to persevere in the strict execution of the laws. 
"He that keepeth his own spirit, is greater than he that taketh a 
city." Still, men are prone to " strain out a gnat, but swallow a 
camel." While Henry received the reprimand of the Chief Justice, 
and reformed, he followed the base example of his father, under 
the pastoral care of Archbishop Arundel, in burning heretics. (?) 

The followers of Wickliffe had now become numerous in Eng- 
land, and had for their leader Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, 
a nobleman of distinguished talents, and high in favor with the 
king. This Christian nobleman Henry delivered (like Pilate) to 
the Arch-Arundel, and his "legion, for they were many," to be hung 
up by the middle with a chain, and roasted alive ! For the grave 
offence of striking the justice, Henry repented and reformed, and 
was commended ; but for giving up Lord Cobham, to be reduced to 
charcoal for his simple faith, he repented not, nor reformed, and 
was also commended ! In order to be a friend to Caesar, the just 
must be " crucified, crucified? 

The claim made by Edward III., to the French throne, as son of 
Isabella, daughter of Philip IV., not having been yet fully estab- 
lished, Henry V., as great-grandson to Edward III., revived the 
claim, and prepared to invade France, and enforce it upon the 
French nation. 

Henry chose a time of disorder in the affairs of France to make 
his attack. Proceeding thither with fifteen thousand men, he was 
met, on the plains of Agin court, by the French army of sixty thou- 
sand men. The French, disdaining to attack so few, stood at repose. 
Henry had placed his army in a narrow pass, each flank being cov- 
ered by woods. Seeing the contempt of the French, Henry ordered 
an attack ; first, by a cloud of arrows discharged upon the enemy, 
then a charge with the sword upon the French horse, which turned 
them back upon the French infantry ; then followed a charge of 
the English horse, which gave them the victory : they losing not 
five hundred men, while the French lost in killed eleven thousand, 
and fourteen thousand prisoners. 

After this battle, Henry found it necessary to return to England 
and recruit his army. This done, he landed in France with twenty- 
five thousand troops, fought his way to Paris, and compelled the 
French to make the treaty of Troyes, 1420. This treaty was made 
between the queen of Charles (who was himself insane) and the 



448 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Duke of Burgundy. It stipulated Henry's right to the crown ; that 
he should marry the daughter of Charles, and she to receive France 
as her dowry, and Henry to govern as regent until the death of 
Charles. 

Henry then proceeded against the Dauphin, who had assumed 
the regency. Triumphing over him, the succession of the English 
king to the French throne was settled. Henry soon after died, 
aged thirty-four, having reigned nine years. Thus the portal of 
earthly fame was to him that of death, and his conquests proved 
to be of no benefit to his country. 

Hexky VI. — He succeeded to the throne, in 1422 — only nine 
months of age. He was proclaimed King of England and France, 
simultaneously at London and Paris ; his two uncles acting as pro- 
tectors for the young king, viz., the Duke of Bedford for France, 
and the Duke of Gloucester for England. At eight years of age, 
Henry was crowned King of France. It only remained at that 
time, to complete the conquest of the country, to capture Orleans, 
a strong and important place. The Duke of Bedford laid siege to 
the place, and brought the affairs of the country to a crisis that 
would have given the whole kingdom to the English in a short 
time. 

At this critical juncture appeared that very extraordinary char- 
acter, Joan of Arc, "the Maid of Orleans." By her intrepidity, 
"borne as on the wings of fate," she led the French forces against 
the English, and compelled them to raise the siege. The French 
who supported the Dauphin, Charles VII., took courage at this, and 
finally recovered all the possessions of the English in their country, 
except Calais and Guienne. 

Henry, on coming of age, proved to be an imbecile king. He 
married Margaret of Anjou, whose ambition and heroism found a 
space for exercise upon being associated with the " sheep's head " 
of her royal spouse. Her intrigues hatched for her broods of 
enemies. An insurrection broke out among the people, who were 
indignant at her crimes, headed by one Jack Cade, but was soon 
crushed. The Duke of Gloucester, a great favorite of the nation, 
and chief pillar of the house of Lancaster, soon disappeared in a 
very mysterious manner (probably Margaret knew how). He 
was heir presumptive to the crown, in case the king died without 
issue, and had opposed the marriage of Henry with Margaret ; 
hence her deadly hatred towards him. 

Margaret's intrigues brought about the change of the succession 

© o o © 

from the house of Lancaster back to the house of York. Both 
had descended from Edward III. ; but that of Lancaster had usurped 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 449 

the crown, in the person of Henry IV., when the Duke of York 
was the rightful heir. Margaret, having a hope of furnishing an 
heir to the throne, from the house of Lancaster, was in a nettle to 
prevent the next line of heirs coming in from the side of York. 

Richard, son of Lionel, third son of Edward III., stood ready to 
take the crown. He was unambitious, though appointed lieutenant 
of the kingdom. This, Margaret could not endure ; and so induced 
Henry to annul his protectorship, and place the administration in 
the hands of the Duke of Somerset. This meddlesome trick of 
hers precipitated a civil war between the houses of York and Lan- 
caster, of thirty years' duration, in which twelve bloody, unrelent- 
ing, fierce battles were fought. In this war over one hundred 
thousand of the bravest men of the nation, including eighty princes 
of the blood, fell in the field, or perished on the scaffold. This 
was called the war of the " Two Roses ; " i. e., the badges of the 
two houses were roses : that of York was a white rose, that of 
Lancaster a red one. 

In the battles of St. Albans and Northampton, the Lancastrians 
were defeated, and the king taken prisoner ; but Margaret's grit 
collected another large army, and gained the battle of Wakefield, 
in which the Duke of York was defeated and slain. But Edward, 
his son, immediately espoused his father's cause, and, at the head of 
a large army, entered London, amidst the shouts of the people, and 
was proclaimed king. But the contest was not ended yet. Mar- 
garet, losing none of her effrontery, collected another army of sixty 
thousand men, which was met by one of forty thousand of the 
Yorkists, under the command of Edward and the Earl of Warwick. 
A tremendous battle was fought at Towton, in which thirty-six 
thousand Englishmen, slain by each other's hands, were left dead on 
the field. (Civil wars are the most desperate of all. This instance 
reminds one of the war between Israel and Benjamin ; Sparta and 
Athens ; and Caesar and Pompey.) 

BRANCH OF YORK. 

Edward IV. — By the victory of Towton Edward was con- 
sidered as king, 1461, in the proper line of Edward III. Henry 
VI. was taken prisoner, and confined in the Tower. Margaret fled 
from her enemies, taking with her her little son, eight years old. 
In her flight, she got lost in Hexham forest, where she fell into the 
hands of rufiians, who stripped her of her jewels, and then treated 
her with indignity. Overcome with fatigue and terror, she sunk in 
despair, but was soon aroused by the approach of a robber with a 

57 



450 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

drawn sword. Seeing no way of escape, she arose and presented to 
him her child, saying, " My friend, here is your king's son, whom 
I commit to your protection." The robber, pleased with this con- 
fidence, so full and unexpected, took them in careful charge through 
many perils, to a small seaport, whence they sailed to Flanders. 

The house of York had hitherto had the assistance of JVevil, 
Earl of Warwick, the most powerful baron in England, and the 
greatest general of his age. But Edward having given him some 
offence, he turned his favor on the side of the house of Lancaster. 
By his exertions Edward was deposed, and Henry, after having 
been a prisoner six years in the Tower, was released, and again 
proclaimed king. Margaret's hopes were now revived, and she 
put forth renewed efforts for the throne. But, in the battle of Bar- 
net, Edward prevailed, and the brave Warwick was slain. In the 
desperate battle of Tewksbury Margaret's hopes were finally 
cut off. She and her son, " the Prince of Wales," were taken 
prisoners. 

The prince, when brought before Edward, was asked by him 
how he dared invade his realm? Conscious of his high birth, he 
replied, that he came thither to claim his just inheritance. Edward, 
in a very unkingly manner, struck him on the face with his gaunt- 
let. The dukes of Clarence and Gloucester took this as a signal 
for further violence, hurried the prince into the adjoining apart- 
ment, and despatched him with their daggers. Henry was re-im- 
prisoned in the Tower, and found dead in a few days after. 
Margaret, after all her trail of blood, was only imprisoned, but 
was afterwards ransomed by the King of France, whither she went, 
and passed the remainder of her days in obscurity and neglect. 

Edward, when securely established on the throne, gave himself 
up to unrestrained indulgence in acts of tyranny, cruelty, and de- 
bauchery. He and his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 
concerted together to put their brother, the Duke of Clarence, to 
death, and drowned him in a butt of Malmsey wine. Edward, 
while preparing to gratify his subjects by a war with France, 
died suddenly, in his forty-second year — poisoned, as was sup- 
posed, by his brother Richard. One writer says of Edward him- 
self, " His good qualities were beauty and courage ; his bad 
qualities, every vice." Oh, the heart-aches of royalty ! 

Edward V. — He was the older of two brothers, sons of Edward 
IV., and was proclaimed king, at thirteen years of age, in 1483, 
under the regency of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester. 

The diabolical Richard now unmasked his design in putting his 
two brothers, King Plenry and. his son, to death. He undertook 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 451 

to interest the leading men in his behalf, to assist in raising him to 
the throne, despite the two young princes, sons of Edward IV. 
Lord Hastings, and other distinguished persons, refusing to second 
his designs against the young princes, were decapitated, in a most 
summary manner, almost without even the forms of law. The 
young princes he caused to be removed to the Tower, under pre- 
tence of guarding them more securely. 

Hereupon he seized the crown ; declared the two princes, Edward 
and his brother, the Duke of York, were illegitimate ; and caused 
himself to be proclaimed king, with the title 

Richard III. — This plot he consummated in seventy-four days 
after Edward V. came to the throne, 1483. Richard then gave 
orders to Sir Robert Brackenburg, constable of the Tower, to put 
the young princes to death ; but, from sentiments of honor, he 
refused to stain his hands with the infamous deed. The diabolical 
Richard then engaged Sir James Tyrrel, who chose three associates, 
whom he led to the door of the chamber where the young princes 
were lodged. Tyrrel charged them to enter and execute the terrible 
deed, while himself stood at the door. As they entered softly, the 
two boys lay in their bed, in a sweet and profound sleep. After 
suffocating them with the bolster and pillows, they showed the 
naked bodies to Tyrrel, who ordered them to be buried, deep in the 
ground, at the foot of the stairs. 

This wretch had now filled up his cup of iniquity, and seated 
himself upon the throne, after wading to it through the blood of his 
nearest relations. Yengeance there was in store, and a hand to 
execute it, in the person of the Earl of Richmond, the only surviv- 
ing heir of the house of Lancaster. The French supplied him with 
means of making war upon this detestable tyrant. The armies of 
the two rivals met at JBosicorth, where a desperate battle was 
fought. By reason of Lord Stanley's going over to Richmond, 
Richard was defeated and slain. On looking over the dead, behold 
the body of the usurper, with the golden crown upon his head. It 
was immediately removed, and placed upon the head of his rival, 
who was proclaimed king, on the battle-field, with the title of Henry 
VII. 

It is said of Richard, that he had a harsh and disagreeable coun- 
tenance, was crook-backed, splay-footed, and his left arm withered ; 
but his deformed body was much nearer perfection than his base 
mind. 

HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henry VII. — He assumed this title August 22, 1485. His right 
was rather defective. He w T as the last male heir of Lancaster, and 



452 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

that only by being the son of Margaret (great-grand-daughter of 
John of Ghent), and of Edmund Tudor. He strengthened his 
claim, however, by marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., 
thereby uniting the two houses of York and Lancaster. (So, in 
like manner, by marrying Margaret of Scotland, Henry I. united the 
Saxon and Norman families.) 

The policy of Henry was pacific, though disturbed by pretenders 
to the throne, claiming to be the young princes of the Tower. 
Among these pretenders and their friends, who were executed, was 
the Earl of Warwick, the last of the Plantagenets. 

Henry's prejudice to the house of York is said to have been very 
strong, so that he even ill-treated his wife on that account, though 
she was in the highest degree virtuous, amiable, and obsequious. 
Still, she never received in return proper affection, or even com- 
plaisance : his sullen ideas of faction prevailing over all the senti- 
ments of conjugal endearment. He was much respected, but little 
beloved. He was wholly devoted to business; prudent and saga- 
cious ; little susceptible of social or generous affections ; serious, re- 
served, suspicious, despotic and avaricious. 

Epsom and Dudley, two lawyers, obtained an infamous notoriety 
as tools of his base schemes of extortion. He left, as the fruit of his 
avarice, fifty millions of dollars in ready money. Though not a popu- 
lar sovereign, still his reign is considered as next to Alfred's, in point 
of substantial advantage to the nation. He enacted many wise and 
salutary laws, promoted industry, encouraged commerce, reduced to 
subordination a factious and insolent aristocracy, and taught the 
peaceful arts of civilized life to a warlike and turbulent people. 

By permitting the nobles to alienate their lands, he weakened 
their power, raised the respectability of the lower orders, and gave 
a death-blow to the feudal system introduced by William the Con- 
queror. He expended fourteen thousand pounds in building a ship, 
which he called the "Great Harry" which is considered as the 
beginning of the English Navy. Before this, the government 
depended upon hiring or pressing merchant ships, in order to raise 
its fleets. 



PERIOD IV. MOtf HENRY VIII, 5513 A. 1L, AND 1509 A. C, TO THE END OF THE 
REVOLUTION, 5692 A. II., AND 1688 A. C. 

Henry VIII. — He succeeded his father, in 1509, in his eighteenth 
year. No person ever came to a throne under more flattering 
auspices than did Henry VIII. The terrible contests between the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 453 

houses of York and Lancaster had ceased, and their rival interests 
were happily blended in himself. The nation was at peace, and 
prosperous ; the treasury full. He was young and beautiful, with 
accomplished manners, frank and open disposition, possessed of 
some learning, and fine talents; and was regarded by the people 
with affection and high expectations. (Earthly bliss !) 

But soon, ah, too soon ! the scene changed. He quickly showed 
himself to be destitute of wisdom and virtue ; an unprincipled and 
cruel tyrant; rapacious and prodigal; obstinate and capricious; fickle 
in friendships, and merciless in resentments. Sir Walter Raleigh 
says of him : " If all the pictures and patterns of a merciless prince 
were lost to the world, they might all again be painted to the life, 
out of the story of this king." 

One of the greatest wonders of his reign was the tame servility 
of the people and Parliament in submitting to his tyranny, or being 
made the tools of its exercise. He chose eminent men for his 
ministers, and they, too, felt the effects of his caprice and cruelty; 
Archbishop Cranmer alone retaining his favor to the last. The 
people had become so heart-sick of war, during the civil contests, 
that they had little choice between being ground to powder or torn 
in pieces. Henry's prodigality soon made way with the immense 
treasure left by his father. His military operations were few. He 
made war with Louis XII. of France, gaining the battle of the 
Sp)urs, — so called from the greater use the French made of their 
spurs than their swords. His general, the Earl of Surrey, gained a 
great battle over the Scots at Flodden Field, where James IV. and 
a great part of his nobility were slain. Henry was also, in some 
measure, involved in the wars of the two great rivals of the age, 
Charles V. of Germany, and Francis I. of France. 

Before Henry was thirty years of age, he wrote a book, on the 
Seven Sacraments, against Luther the Reformer, which so pleased 
the Pope, that he conferred upon him the title of " Defender of the 
Faith ; " a title still retained by the monarchs of England. 

But the most remarkable events in Henry's reign were his trouble 
with his wives and the Pope. His first wife was Catharine of 
Arragon, widow of his elder brother Arthur, daughter of Ferdi- 
nand of Spain, and aunt of Charles V. After living with her 
eighteen years, he pretended to feel conscientious scruples about 
having his brother's wife. (In the meantime he had conceived a 
fondness for, and entered into improper intimacy with, the maid 
of honor, Anne Boleyyi, w T hom he desired, and would be under 
obligation to marry.) Hence he applied to the Pope for a divorce 
from Catharine, under pretence of having been his brother's wife. 



454 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Cardinal Wolsey, who had pampered to the dissolute habits of the 
young king, was suspected of using his influence against Henry, 
as the divorce was delayed, and was seized on a charge of high 
treason. Falling sick soon after, Wolsey exclaimed, in remorse, 
"Had I but served God as diligently as I have served the king, he 
would not have given me over in my gray hairs." 

Henry was advised, in his dilemma and suspense, to seek the 
opinion of the Universities. This done, a decision was given in 
favor of a divorce. A court was immediately assembled, under 
Cranmer, which pronounced the marriage invalid ; and Lady Anne 
was soon crowned queen. 

This refusal of the Pope to grant a divorce introduced a new 
subject of contention, no less disturbing and distressing to the 
nation than the war of the roses. This was the abolition of the 
papal supremacy in England, the suppression of the wealthy monas- 
teries, alterations in the doctrines and forms of religion, and the 
king declared the supreme head of the English Church. Xews of 
this bold stroke reaching Rome, Henry was immediately declared 
an opponent of Christ's vicar on earth; his title of "Defender of 
the Faith" withdrawn; he was excommunicated, his kingdom laid 
under an interdict, and he himself cited to appear at Rome. Henry, 
however, was no King John, to bow to the Pope, but looked upon 
his raving as all idle wind. In fact, he was neither Catholic nor 
Protestant ; for he assumed infallibility, and caused the law of the 
Six Articles to be passed, termed the "bloody statute" (Draco- 
like), under which he put to death all, of every name, who ventured 
to differ from him in opinion. 

In less than three years after his new marriage he caused Anne 
Boleyn to be beheaded, to allow him to marry Jane Seymour, which 
he did the next day after Anne's death. Jane died in child-birth, 
leaving a son, Prince Edward. He next married Anne of Cleves, 
but soon set her aside, because she was not so handsome as she had 
been represented; and Thomas CromweU, Earl of Essex, who 
helped him to get Anne Cleves, suffered death on the scaffold, 
because he aided in bringing about that joyless marriage. He then 
married Catharine Howard, whom he had executed for adultery. 
Catharine Parr, his sixth wife, had the good fortune to survive 
him. 

Henry was the second king (Philip IV. of France being the first) 
who gave Popery a mortal wound. Xot that either of them had 
any fellowship for a pure religion ; but they thought to do the Pope 
harm, and they did him harm. In the first place, he lost " supremacy 
over kings; " in the second, he lost "England"! The scene of con- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 455 

fiict now changes. Instead of "war between the two Roses," it's 
between the " Sceptre and the Keys." Indeed, the drama from 
Henry VIII. to the Revolution embraces the fearful yet successful 
struggle for civil and religious liberty. 

Edward VI. — He was Henry's son, by Jane Seymour, and as- 
cended the throne in 1547, in his tenth year. (Henry left two 
other children, daughters, viz. : Mary, daughter of Catharine of 
Arragon, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn.) Edward Sey- 
mour, Duke of Somerset, uncle of the young king, was Protector; 
after his fall, the Duke of Northumberland was raised to the same 
office. 

Edward was a prince of great promise and many virtues. So 
opposite was he in spirit to his father, that he never signed an order 
for an execution against any of his subjects without shedding tears. 
His benevolence is exhibited in the endowments he made to Bride- 
well (a house of correction), St. Thomas' Hospital, and several 
schools, which still exist and flourish. 

His reign was somewhat disturbed, from the strife for the ascend- 
ency between Protestantism and Popery. The former prevailed, 
and the cause of the Reformation was promoted, and the reformed 
liturgy was modelled under the direction of Cranmer. Just before 
Edward's death, the Duke of Northumberland, the Protector, induced 
him to set aside his sisters Mary and Elizabeth, and bequeath the 
crown to Jane Grey, a great-grand-daughter of Henry VII., who 
had married Lord Guilford Dudley, son of the Protector. Edward 
died in his sixteenth year, deeply lamented by the nation. Good 
kings were so rare, that their loss was a great calamity. 

Mary. — She was sister of Edward VI., and began her reign in 
1553. She was the first queen of England, and, with that honor, 
has also the title of "Bloody" Mary. Her first measure was to 
dispose of Lady Jane Grey. This beautiful Protestant princess 
(another Mariamne) was induced by her father-in-law and husband 
to accept of a crown, which they had also induced Edward to will 
her, Her youth is her apology for the step, and her execution the 
penalty thereof. She reluctantly accepted the peril, and by their 
intrigues alone was she proclaimed queen ; but, after wearing the 
crown ten days, she resigned it, and would gladly have returned to 
private life. But, alas ! she had gone too far. 

Lady Jane and her husband were apprehended, and condemned 
to be beheaded. On the day of their execution, her husband| 
requested an interview with her; but she declined, writing him 
that the tenderness of such a meeting would unfit them both for a 
greater concern. Also, that their separation would be but for a 



456 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

moment, when they would meet to part no more. Her husband 
was first brought to the block, before her eyes; but, undaunted at 
the sight, she addressed the spectators in a most affecting speech, 
and, with all her gentleness and loveliness, submitted her own neck 
to the fatal axe. It is said of her, that she was versed in Hebrew, 
Chaldee, Arabic, Latin, French, and Italian. Fuller adds, that she 
had "the innocency of childhood, the beauty of youth, the solidity 
of middle, and the gravity of old age ; and all at eighteen : the 
birth of a princess, the learning of a clerk, and the life of a saint ; 
yet the death of a malefactor, for her parent's offences." 

"Bloody" Mary next imbrued her hands in the blood of the 
reformers. Being a Catholic, she attempted to restore the influence 
of the Pope, which her father had checked, and which was waning 
before the Reformation. 

The leading victims (some of the most prominent reformers) who 
sealed their faith at the stake, at Smithfield, were Cranmer, Latimer, 
Ridley, Hooper, Ferrar, and Rogers. But these barbarities, and the 
undaunted spirit the martyrs exhibited, produced so strong a sensa- 
tion in their favor, that their martyrdom tended to forward, rather 
than check, the Reformation. Another step that rendered Mary 
still more unpopular was her marriage with Philip II. of Spain. 
By the articles of marriage, her Parliament made provision for the 
independence of the English crown. It was stipulated that the 
administration of the government should be solely in the queen. 
In the last year of her reign, the French took Calais, which had 
been in the possession of the English for two hundred and ten years. 
She died soon after. This loss, together with the knowledge that 
she was hated by her husband and her subjects, caused her to die, 
of grief and vexation of heart, in her forty-third year. 



IV.-AGE OF CONSOLIDATION. 

Elizabeth. — She succeeded to the throne, on the death of Mary, 
her sister, in 1558. Her accession was hailed with joy by the nation, 
in the hope that the Reformation would receive favor at her hands. 
Her sister Mary being suspicious that Elizabeth was not a Catholic, 
frequently laid the trap of the " real presence " for her : to which 
she used to reply — 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 457 

" Christ was the word that spake it ; 
He took the bread and brake it; 
And what the word did make it, 
That I believe, and take it." 

Elizabeth favored the Protestant religion, and under her auspices 
the Church of England received its present form of faith. But her 
Protestantism was precisely after the pattern of her father's : simply, 
that she preferred to be head of the church herself, instead of allow- 
ing His Holiness that distinction, f Hers was the Protestantism of 
Prelacy. The preaching of the Puritans she despised, and even 
prohibited it, until the meeting of Parliament. Upon its meeting, 
in 1559, several measures were adopted favoring Prelacy ; one of 
which was, the "Supremacy of the Sovereign and Uniformity of 
Common Prayer? The design of the act of supremacy was to put 
the establishment of forms and ceremonies into Elizabeth's hands. 
Many of the ceremonies which she established the Puritans would 
not adopt, and this led to the establishment of the Court of High 
Commission. This became a prelatical Inquisition, resembling 
the papal one not a little. By these and other measures the peace 
of the nation was greatly disturbed. 

Elizabeth is charged with cruelty to Mary, Queen of Scots, who 
was as beautiful as she was unfortunate. She was great-grand- 
daughter of Henry VII., and next heir to Elizabeth to the throne 
of England. She had been educated, in France, a Catholic, and 
married, when very young, the dauphin, afterwards Francis II. 
Influenced by her maternal uncles, the Guises, she foolishly (like 
Lady Jane Grey) assumed the title of Queen of England. This 
excited the resentment of Elizabeth, and cost the Queen of Scots 
her peace and head. Upon the death of Francis, she returned to 
Scotland, at the age of eighteen years. At this time the Refor- 
mation, by the zealous labors of John Knox, had made great pro- 
gress in the country, and the people had a strong aversion to their 
Catholic queen, and rather looked to Elizabeth for protection, and 
refused to acknowledge Mary. 

She married her cousin, Henry Stuart, but soon had trouble, and 
he was murdered not long after. Her conduct excited against her 
the whole kingdom of Scotland; and, being deserted by her follow- 
ers, she was compelled to resign her crown to her infant son, who 
was proclaimed James VI.; and the Earl of Murray, a friend of 
the Reformation, appointed regent. Escaping from her confinement, 
she raised an army to oppose Murray ; but was defeated, and fled 
to England in 1568. Encouraged by the plausible professions of 

58 



458 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

regard from Elizabeth, she sought her protection, and desired her to 
act as umpire between herself and her subjects. 

Elizabeth had too much of Henry VIII. in her to allow one who 
had committed the offence of Lady Jane to meet with any better 
fate. For eighteen long years she kept Mary a prisoner in Fother- 
iugay Castle. She was at last tried (?), and, of course, condemned 
to die. When informed that she must die, she called in all her ser- 
vants, and bade them a solemn farewell. Next morning she dressed 
herself in a rich habit of silk andsvelvet, and declared her resolution 
to die a Catholic. When brought to the block, " she displayed the 
majesty of a queen, and the meekness of a martyr." She, like Lady 
Jane, was very accomplished. Her beauty was celebrated through- 
out Europe. She read and understood several languages, wrote 
poetry, and practised music. 

In this reign the Spanish Invincible Armada was sent against 
England. This fleet consisted of 150 ships, 3000 cannon, and 27,000 
men. It entered the English Channel in the form of a crescent ; it 
was met by 108 English ships. These attacked the Armada in the 
night, set on fire and burned many of them, when a violent storm 
dispersed the rest. Only 50 vessels returned, and 6000 men. (A 
similar attempt met with a similar fate in the reign of Charles VI. 
of France.) 

The reign of Elizabeth was fruitful with eminent men. It has 
been considered the Augustan age of English literature, and was 
illustrated by the great names of Milton, Bacon, Spenser, and 
ShaJcspeare, 

Elizabeth early formed a purpose to "live and die a maiden 
queen." Notwithstanding this, her flirtations and foibles were many 
and ludicrous. Her greatest favorite was an accomplished young 
nobleman, Earl of Essex. They had many quarrels and reconcilia- 
tions. On one occasion, for some affront he offered her, she angrily 
boxed his ear; upon which Essex clapped his hand upon his sword, 
swearing he would not bear such usage from Henry VIII., and left 
the room. 

She was excessively fond of dress and show, and, feeling slighted 
because her beauty was fading, said, "Men will turn from the setting 
to the rising sun." In her extreme age she maintained her exces- 
sive desire of show and flattery. Being mortified at the sight of 
wrinkles on her face, she refrained from using a mirror, and trusted 
herself entirely in the hands of her maids of honor to arrange her 
toilet. In painting her cheeks, her maids of honor (?) used some- 
times to send her into the presence of her courtiers with her nose 
painted. Her manners were haughty and overbearing, and her con- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 459 

versation grossly profane. She is said to have spoken Greek, Latin, 
French, and Spanish fluently. Her policy of government was, to 
secure the affections of her people, to be frugal of her treasures, 
and excite dissensions among her enemies. During her reign, 
England rose from a secondary kingdom to a level with the first 
States of Europe. England has had few abler sovereigns than 
Elizabeth. 

Upon hearing of the effort of Essex, her paramour, to convey a 
particular ring to her, after his condemnation, in hope of moving 
her affection for him (which was intercepted and kept from^her, 
until after his execution, by the Countess of Nottingham), Eliza- 
beth fell into a profound melancholy. No efforts could arouse her, 
and no persuasions induce her to take either food or medicine. She 
th;ew herself upon the floor, and remained in that state several days 
and nights, tHA?A'-¥ife became extinct. (See Cleopatra and Antony.) 
T;ie "maiden" queen was not proof against the darts of Cupid; 
and, with all her couches md luxury, Queen Elizabeth died on the 
floor. 

HOUSE OF STUART. 

Jame p I. — Upon the approach of death, Elizabeth nominated as 
her successor James VI. of Scotland, the son of her rival, Mary, 
Queen of Scots. He ascended the throne of England in 1603, with 
the title of James L, when the two crorms were united. He was 
the first of the Stuarts, a family whose reign was an unceasing 
struggle with the people for the sovereign and divine right of 
kings. (The people were unable to discover divine right where 
there was so much despotism, rashness, and " Punic "faith). 

Scarcely had James arrived in England, when a conspiracy was 
discovered for placing Arabella Stuart on the throne. Sir Walter 
Raleigh suffered fifteen years imprisonment on suspicion of being 
concerned in the plot, and was then beheaded. James had been 
educated a Presbyterian in Scotland, and, upon his accession, the 
Puritans hoped for clemency. But, on coming to the throne, he 
found it expedient to "remove his relation from John Knox's 
church, to join Queen Elizabeth's." The Catholics, seeing that 
their hopes, also, were at an end, formed the famous conspiracy 
called the "Gunpowder Plot." The object was to cut off King, 
Lords, and Commons at a blow, on the assembling of Parliament, 
so as to make a chasm in the administration, if not a change. 

On the approach of the event, a Catholic member of Parliament 
received an anonymous letter, advising him to be absent at that 
meeting; "for," said the letter, "though there be no appearance 



460 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

of any stir, yet I say they will receive a terrible blow, this Parlia- 
ment ; and yet they shall not see who hurts them." James did not 
treat this letter as did Archias the Spartan, or Julius Caesar one 
with a similar note of warning, — "business to morrow? — but sus- 
pected the allusion made was to gunpowder. Search being made 
in the vaults of the building, thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, all 
trailed, and Guy Faiokes, with the matches in his pocket to set it 
on fire, were found, the night previous to the assembling of Parlia- 
ment. He, with eighty others, suffered death. 

JaAes, like Henry VIIL, allowed himself to be guided by un- 
worthy favorites, who were possessed of no real merits, and by their 
excesses became odious to the people. The Puritans anticipated 
the favor of the new king, on account of his early religious educa- 
tion, but soon found him their oppressor ; his laconic with them 
was, "jSTo bishop, no king." He loved absolute powp^ f^ ^A'^aDeta. 
loved flattery. The divine right of kings to govern their subjects 
without control, was his favorite topic in conversation, and in his 
speeches to Parliament. [For further particulars of his treatment 
of the Puritans see History of Religion, page 267], 

Display was the hobby of James. He hated war, and henf j his 
pacific reign. He was as fond of fl ittery as Elizabeth ; and it was 
dealt out to him, in unmeasured bounty, by his bishops and pari- 
shes, who styled him the "British Solomon.'''' An opposite opinion 
styled him the "wisest fool in Europe." He labored to establish 
the divine right of kings to absolute sway, while the people grew 
stronger in the belief that there was no divine necessity for such 
divine right. 

During his reign the increase of commerce, and hence of wealth, 
— the diffusion of information, — the little respect cherished for the 
personal character of the king, — the disappointed hopes of the Puri- 
tans, — their increase, and emigration to America, in 1620, for liberty's 
sake, — all conspired to diffuse widely the spirit of liberty. Public 
opinion was now strongly set upon the extension of the rights of 
the people, and the retrenchment of the prerogatives of the king, 
the fruit of which was reaped in the next reign. 

Charles I. — He was son of James I., and succeeded him at his 
death, in 1625. He came to the throne under the favorable auspices 
of an undisputed title, and the kingdom in a flourishing condition. 
But the state of public opinion was not so favorable for the peace 
of a king with the sentiments of Charles. 

He had married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of 
France. Buckingham was retained by Charles, in the same position 
as under James. He was sent by Charles to assist the Protestants 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 461 

In France, doubtless through the influence of Henry, the king's 
father-in-law, who favored them. Buckingham's assistance was no 
help ; for he left Rochelle, the last hold of the Protestants, in peril, 
and returned to England. He was assassinated, by one Felton, just 
as he was about to embark for the relief of Rochelle. The fall of 
Rochelle was the fall of Protestantism in France. 

Charles, accompanied by Buckingham, in the latter part of the 
reign of James, visited the court of Spain, in order to solicit the 
hand of the Infanta in marriage ; but, through the mismanagement 
of Buckingham, the prince " got the mitten," upon which a war 
ensued between England and Spain; and Parliament refused sup- 
plies to aid Charles in courting the Infanta with bayonets. It is 
said that one reason for the fitting out of the Spanish Armada was 
to gratify the resentment of Philip II. towards Elizabeth for re- 
fusing him her hand in marriage. (Oh, Helen of Troy !) For this 
refusal to aid Prince Charles, King Charles thought to have revenge. 
(Unlike Louis XII., who, in a similar case, said, " It is unworthy the 
King of France to punish the injuries done the Duke of Orleans.") 
Charles thought, since the Parliament thought to proceed or with- 
hold, regardless of him, so he would attempt to rule, independent 
of Parliament. 

Charles was persuaded, by the alarming emigration to America, 
to forbid it, as the best men were leaving the nation. Among those 
prevented from leaving, were John Hampden, John Pym, and Oliver 
Cromwell, — men Charles would gladly have let gone to America 
not long after, could he have done it ; but the Lord and the world 
needed them in England to stare despotism out of countenance. 

Here was his fatal mistake, — in presuming to goad the nation, 
where it was already sore from the same cause. The famous ship- 
money tax put the wheels of revolution in motion. This was a tax 
to fit out a fleet, at the king's discretion, with ships, men, and sup- 
plies, independent of Parliament. John Hampden, a prominent 
member of the Parliament, and popular in the nation, refused to 
pay it. A suit was commenced, and the corrupted judge gave sen- 
tence against Hampden. The nation, seeing the injustice of this 
proceeding, now knew that they had nothing to expect of such a 
king and such a court. [For attempts to introduce Episcopacy into 
Scotland, see History of Religion.] 

In 1640, Charles convoked a Parliament, after eleven years' inter- 
mission ; but the House of Commons, instead of listening to his 
demands for supplies, began to present the public grievances, which 
were, violated privileges of Parliament, illegal taxes, and persecu- 
tion. He soon dissolved them^and called for a new election. This 



462 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

new Parliament sent Stafford and Laud to the Tower, and after- 
wards beheaded Stafford, and, in five years, Laud also. 

Infatuation now seized the king. In the face of such a Parlia- 
ment, he proceeded to light the flame of civil war. This he did by 
impeaching Lord Kimbolton, and five distinguished commoners, — 
Pym, Hampden, Hollis, Hazlerig, and Strode, — and by going himself 
to the House to seize them, taking two hundred armed men with 
him to the door ! Having entered the House, he ordered the 
Speaker, Lenthal, to point them out. Falling on his knees, Lenthal 
said, " Sire, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this 
place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am ; 
and I humbly ask pardon, that I cannot give any other answer to 
what your majesty is pleased to demand of me." 

The king withdrew, without obtaining the men he sought ; and 
as he departed, murmurs of " Privilege ! privilege ! " were distinctly 
heard. Charles found he had run against Parliament in a way that 
he must yield ; and the moment he turned from the Speaker to 
leave, his degradation and downfall began. The summit of kingly 
insolence was then attained, and the descent must follow. The 
next step in his decline was the acknowledgment of his fault, in 
an apology to Parliament for his conduct. (Quite a low bow for a 
despot to make !) 

" But the ' die was cast/ 
The rubicon was past," — 

and to the sword both parties flew. 

This civil war began in 1642 ; the cause of the king being sup- 
ported by the larger part of the nobility, the bishops and friends of 
Episcopacy, and the Catholics ; that of the Parliament, by the 
yeomanry, merchants, mechanics, and Dissenters. The former were 
called Cavaliers ; the latter, Roundheads, from cropping their hair 
short. 

The royal army was commanded by the king, the Earl of Lind- 
sey, Prince Rupert, and Sir Jacob Astley : the parliamentary army 
by Earl of Essex, — then Lord Fairfax, — and afterwards by Oliver 
Cromwell. After the war had raged for five years, with various suc- 
cess, Charles fell into the hands of his enemies. For some time he 
was kept a prisoner, during which time the power Parliament had 
taken from the king was, by Cromwell's management, transferred 
to the army. 

Presbyterianism being now on the decline, the Independents 
managed, by the aid of Cromwell, to get a court composed of one 
hundred and thirty-three members of Parliament of their own 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 463 

stamp. This small portion of the Parliament was called the 
"Rump? by way of derision. But, alas, for royalty ! it was com- 
posed of the same class of persons as a part of the members of 
" Hampton Court," whom James ordered to " conform, or he would 
dog them out of the land, or hang them." But, in Charles' case, 
the "Rump" was judge, and the king the criminal. Charles was 
arraigned before this tribunal. He declined the jurisdiction of the 
court, and refused to plead. The sentence of the court, however, 
was : " Being satisfied that Charles Stuart is guilty of the crimes of 
which he has been charged, the court do adjudge him — as a tyrant, 
traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people of the 
nation — to be put to death by severing his head from his body." 

In the morning of the fatal day, he arose earlier than usual, and 
took special pains in adjusting his dress. In preparing for the axe, 
he observed, to the Bishop of London, " I go from a corruptible to 
an incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can have place." On 
January 31, 1649, Charles, having laid his head on the block, one 
of the masked executioners severed it from his body at a blow; 
the other, holding it up, said, "Behold the head of a traitor ! " while 
the lamentations of the spectators were mingled with the acclama- 
tions of the soldiery. What a lesson to tyrants who domineer over 
freemen ! 

Charles I. is reputed as an author ; and in his poem entitled 
"Majesty in Misery," the following lines occur : 

"With my own power my majesty they wound, 
In the king's name the king himself" s uncrowned; 

So doth the dust destroy the diamond. 
Felons attain more privilege than I ; 
They are allowed to answer ere they die; 
' T is death to me to ask the reason why. " 

Charles' death was desired and brought about by a small part of 
the nation, or Parliament. Yet he brought it upon himself, by in- 
dulging in insolent despotism, and being the last man to learn 
that the influence of authority must ultimately bend to the influ- 
ence of opinion. His duplicity with Parliament shook all their 
confidence in him ; and, when forbearance ceased to be a virtue, he 
was made a " royal martyr." 

Troublesome as were those times, it was the period when the 
problem of "despotism or liberty" was solved for the world; and 
to the dissenting interests in England, at that time, kindled and 
kept alive by the teachings of the Bible, do England and America 



464 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

owe the liberty, civil and religious, of which they boast, and are so 
glad to enjoy. So Greece, Rome, France, and England, have in 
turn upset royalty. 

Oliver Cromwell. — Upon the death of Charles, 1649, Crom- 
well was borne, upon the tide of events, from being the successful 
defender of the Parliament, to the Protectorate of the realm. The 
strife between the " divine right of kings " and the inalienable rights 
of the people, threw the crown and ballot-box into his hands to 
manage. 

As regent of a kingless nation, he had the peculiar and difficult 
part to act of preserving royalty and cherishing liberty. His posi- 
tion was, with one hand in the lion's mane, and the other hold of 
the unicorn's horn ! Well might it be said that he was never a 
favorite with either royalists or republicans ; they could not take 
care of themselves ; and whilst he was quieting the row, they hated 
each other none the less, and loved Cromwell none the more. 
They had forced upon him one of the most difficult tasks of the 
kind any mortal ever yet had to perform. It never had been ad- 
justed by all the heroes of Greece, nor emperors of Pome, nor 
kings and parliaments of England, until Cromwell, and has re- 
mained substantially as he left it ever since. 

To this double and difficult work he gave himself, with due energy 
and tact. No sooner had he come into power, than he proceeded 
to recover from the Duke of Ormond, who, at the head of sixteen 
thousand men, in Ireland, had taken some important places from the 
Parliament. He passed over thither, and soon put the country into 
its former relation to England. The Parliament of Scotland took no 
part in the trial of Charles ; but, immediately after his death, pro- 
claimed Charles II. their sovereign, upon condition of his signing 
the covenant. The crowns of Scotland and England having been 
united in James L, this act of the Scots Cromwell looked upon as 
equally treasonable to the crown with the assumption of sovereignty 
by Mary, Queen of Scots ; and so proceeded against the usurpation 
in order to maintain the rights of the crown, which he was forced 
to hold in trust. Accordingly, he inarched into Scotland with sixteen 
thousand men, and defeated the Scots (which Charles I. and Edward 
II. couldn't do) at Dunbar. The royal Covenanters retreating into 
England, were pursued by Cromwell, and in the desperate battle of 
Worcester nearly the whole army was killed or taken prisoners. 
Young Charles escaped with great difficulty, travelling in disguise, 
and only in the night, and passing the day in obscure cottages, 
living on coarse bread and milk. One day he concealed himself in 
the top of a large oak, his pursuers passing at the foot of it. He saw 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 465 

them, and heard them expressing their wish to find him. After two 
months of the like adventures, he found an opportunity (like Mar- 
garet) of escaping to France. Thus Cromwell took care of the 
rights of the crown. 

The famous Navigation Act, passed by the republican Parliament, 
is considered as the foundation of the naval superiority of Great 
Britain. The peculiarity of this act was, the confining of the impor- 
tation of all foreign merchandise to English vessels, and those of 
the country producing the commodities. A war grew out of this 
measure, between Holland and England, terminating in favor of 
the latter ; the Dutch losing sixteen hundred ships. 

The next attempt made to interfere with the double charge in 
Cromwell's hands, was by the Parliament itself. This, known as 
the "Long Parliament" had been in session twelve years, and 
hitherto subservient to Cromwell's policy. At last the Parliament 
became jealous of him, and, having lost the favor of the people, a 
desperate stroke of policy must be adopted. The most feasible 
route the Parliament could take in this dilemma (they thought), 
was to seize the crown power in Cromwell's hands, and then, being 
already a Parliament (hated by the people), they could easily have 
things their own way. Being aware of the influence of Cromwell 
with the army, their only hope of success was in weakening him at 
that point. To impeach him, would be to condemn themselves ; to 
remove him, would be their execution; and to oppose him, they 
dare not venture. At last, with faces as long as their session, they 
very sagely proposed to reduce the army. This measure, they 
thought, would be likely to please the people, by reducing their 
taxes, and thus gain them to their cause ; and so, without meddling in 
the least with Cromwell's popularity with the army, get him "shorn 
of his locks while asleep." 

Cromwell "smelled powder" as quickly as did James I. when he 
read " they shall not see who hurts them." In order, however, to 
get ground for action, Cromwell and his council of officers sent up 
a petition, for Parliament to act upon, which would draw them out. 
While sitting with his officers, a message came, informing him of 
the unfavorable reply of Parliament. Rising suddenly at this, 
Cromwell turned to his major-general, Vernon, and with the ap- 
pearance of fury, said, "I am compelled to do -a thing that makes 
the very hairs of my head stand on end." 

Indignant at Parliament (like Charles), he started for the Parlia- 
ment House, leaving his soldiers at the door (like Charles, only one 
hundred more), and entered it with marks of violent indignation in 
his countenance. After listening a while to their debates (^mlike 

59 



466 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Charles), he started up, and began to load the Parliament with re- 
proachcs. Then, stamping on the floor, he gave the signal for his 
soldiers to enter (unlike Charles also). Addressing himself to the 
members, he said — "For shame ! get you gone ! give place to hon- 
ester men ! I tell you you are no longer a Parliament ! the Lord 
has done icith you ! " 

Thus, true to his trust, — viz., the keeping of the crown and ballot- 
box, — whenever he found either aiming to subvert the other, Crom- 
well intercepts the attempt, and preserves the "prerogatives and 
rights" for their future heirs. Having, unlike Charles, turned the 
Parliament out of doors, and ordered them locked, he issued a call 
for one hundred and forty-four persons, in England, Scotland, and 
Ireland-, to assemble at Whitehall, as representatives of the nation. 
This was styled the Little Parliament^ and, by way of reproach, 
"jBarebones* Parliament" from a prominent member who was by 
trade a leather-dresser — his business requiring bones to be bared / 
hence "JBarebones" (The bleeding and flaying of the nation by its 
kings had left little else but bare bones. " Can these bones live ? ") 

The Little Parliament met July 4th, 1653, and, after five months 
deliberation, re-delivered the summons to Cromwell, by which he 
had called them together, and besought him to take care of the 
Commonwealth. The supreme power now passing into his hands, 
what could he do with it but keep it safely, until otherwise directed? 
Had he not done so, his name would have been traitor. Guarding 
the " royal prerogatives and the popular rights " against usurpers 
was his indisputable prerogative, even though he placed as sentinels 
around the sacred charge, " bulls that breathed fire, and a dragon 
that never slept." Upon the abdication of Parliament, Cromwell 
was assisted by a council of twenty-one members, by whom he was 
declared Protector of the Commonwealth of England, with the 
title, not of Majesty, but of "Highness," in 1654: an office corre- 
sponding, as nearly as possible, to that of Dictator, in the Roman 
Empire. 

It is said that he aspired to the title of King. Not very remark- 
able if he did, considering that he possessed already the station 
and authority of one; and taking the examples of William the 
Conqueror, Henry I., Henry IV., and Richard III., who, under far 
more questionable circumstances, pushed their way to the throne 
through seas of blood. Finally, when the title of King was ten- 
dered him, he declined it, simply keeping, as trustee, the " preroga- 
tives and rights" uncorrupt, for the proper owners. 

The interest of the nation, however, required that the machinery 
of government should be put in motion, notwithstanding it was in 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 467 

the hands of the agent of the king and people. Hence, with the 
utmost propriety, and with precedents in great numbers, Cromwell 
entered upon the administration of the government. This he did 
with unrivalled energy and ability, and was the most able and pow- 
erful potentate of his time in Europe. He appointed General Monk 
to the command of all the forces in Scotland, and sent his own son 
Henry to govern Ireland. Abroad, his fleets and armies were victo- 
rious. Dunkirk was taken from the Spanish, and the island of 
Jamaica also. At home, he defeated and punished the conspiracies 
formed against him ; granted religious toleration ; caused justice to 
be ably and impartially administered by upright and learned judges; 
made himself respected and dreaded by the neighboring nations ; 
and his friendship was sought by every foreign power, — making the 
period of the Protectorate one of the most brilliant in English 
history ; not even behind Elizabeth's reign. Yet his enemies were 
many and fierce, among both royalists and republicans, and Crom- 
well lived constantly in fear of assassination. This was as might be 
expected. Assassins were plenty, both royal and unroyal ; and the 
man who held them in check with bit and bridle, they naturally 
hated. Neither Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, 
nor Philip IV., were any more raised to their high positions by the 
tide of an overruling Providence than was Oliver Cromwell, and lie 
was found competent to his task. The "prerogatives of the king, 
and the rights of the people," were questions in dispute ; these he 
did not attempt to settle, but put his administration upon the basis 
on which they could be settled, and afterwards were settled. So 
that Cromwell was neither a " usurper " nor a " subverter." 

Cromwell has been represented as a dissembler in religion and 
politics ; but, as Dr. Lingard observes, " this supposition is contra- 
dicted by the uniform tenor of his life." At his death, Cromwell 
simply passed the charge committed to his trust into the hands of 
his son Richard, without marring the questions of " prerogatives 
and rights." Richard icas acknowledged in all parts of the empire; 
but, being neither a statesman nor a soldier, with no experience in 
public business, having feeble talents and little ambition, he was 
bought off, and lived in ease to a good old age. 

The Protectorate being now dissolved, anarchy and confusion re- 
turned. General Monk, seeing a disposition in the people to have a 
king again, marched his army into England, and crushed the con- 
tending factions, when a Parliament was assembled, on promises 
made by Monk to Charles, that he would assist him in regaining the 
throne of his father, and Parliament was induced to recall him 



4G8 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

from exile ; and on the 29th of May, 1660, Charles was restored to 
the English throne. 

Charles II. — Son of Charles I. The question of rights and 
prerogatives now came up. Charles made great promises, and the 
people, through a great mistake, allowed him to assume the crown, 
without imposing on him any conditions ; and, by this fatal step, the 
exciting questions which brought Charles I. to the block, were all 
thrown open again. Cromwell had not decided them, and the peo- 
ple, and their new king, were not able now to do it. 

It would seem that gags, shackles, and tyrants were the favorites 
of the people. A number of the regicides were condemned and 
executed ; and then the royal party, and others, turned, with Trojan 
heroism, to the grave of Cromwell, dug up his carcass, and hanged 
it on a gallows. {A thing they dared not do once.) The old theme 
of passive obedience and non-resistance was again revived ; and the 
divine right of kings to rule without let or hinderance, strenuously 
advocated. Still, those who despised these tenets in the reign of 
Charles I., opposed them now ; and the two parties were now dis- 
tinguished into Whigs and Tories, — the latter for the crown, the 
former for the people. 

Cromwell's religious toleration was (like the revoking of the 
Edict of Nantes) succeeded by an "Act of Uniformity," in which 
all persons were required to adopt the form of worship defined by 
the Prelati-papal church of Elizabeth. It took effect on the same 
day of the month as the "Massacre of St. Bartholomew" in Paris, 
August 24, 1662, just ninety years after. Other acts followed, 
known as the " Conventicle Act," and " Oxford Five Mile Act." 
[For an account of these persecuting edicts, see History of Religion, 
page 269]. 

The prodigality of Charles forced him to sell Dunkirk to the 
French for four hundred thousand pounds. During his war with 
the Dutch, occurred the plague of London, 1665, which carried off 
ninety thousand inhabitants ; and the next year a fire occurred in 
the metropolis, which reduced to ashes thirteen thousand two hun- 
dred houses. The failure of the war with the Dutch, and the sale 
of Dunkirk, rendered the administration of Charles unpopular. 
The Duke of York, afterwards James II., who had the chief influ- 
ence at court at this time, was an avowed Catholic ; and Charles 
himself, caring nothing for any religion whatever, was at the same 
time receiving a million of dollars annually from Louis XIY. of 
France, for the purpose of establishing Popery and despotism in 
England. This state of affairs (no better^ certainly, than under 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 469 

Cromwell) excited general consternation and alarm for the Protes- 
tant religion and the public liberty. 

"Prerogatives and rights" were again under discussion between 
the people and their king ; and the latter part of the reign of 
Charles exhibits an uninterrupted series of attacks upon the lives, 
liberty, and property of his subjects, and a disgusting scene of 
party intrigues, plots, and conspiracies. In the midst of these tur- 
moils and excesses, the Parliament invaded the divine right of 
kings, by passing the Habeas Corpus Act ; i. e., a personal safety 
act, to secure the people from oppression. 

"A picture in little" of this king, by Rochester, is, that "Charles 
never said a foolish thing, and never did a wise one." 

James II. — He, upon the death of Charles, ascended the throne 
in 1685. The chief feature of this reign was James's attempt to 
establish Popery in England, and his being driven from the throne 
in consequence of it. 

Immediately upon assuming the government, he expressed his 
contempt of the authority of Parliament, and his confidence in the 
divine right of kings. 

The Duke of Monmouth, a natural son of Charles II., having 
stirred up a rebellion with a view to seize the crown, was defeated, 
taken prisoner, and beheaded. After the rebellion was put down, 
the most inhuman rigor was indulged in against those who favored 
it. It was in this vengeance by " divine right " (?) that the atro- 
cious Chief Justice Jeffreys acquired his egotistical notoriety, boast- 
ing that he had hanged more men than any other judge since William 
the Conqueror; and King James used to give himself jocularity by 
styling it "Jeffreys' campaign." 

As every tyrant must strike his own death-blow, James must his, 
of course. Charles I. struck at the Parliament ; James at the 
Bishops. His hobby was the establishment of Popery in England. 
Having made some progress in that direction, he attempted to put 
on the " cap-stone," by requiring the bishops to read a Declaration, 
suspending the laws against Popery. Seven bishops refused ; and 
for this refusal were committed to the Tower ! At this atrocity the 
spirit of passive obedience, inculcated by the divine right of kings, 
broke out in a general indignation and spirit of positive resistance. 

Application was then made to William, Prince of Orange, who 
had married Mary, eldest daughter of James, who soon landed an 
army at Torbay, in order to assume the government. The principal 
part of the nation immediately joined his standard. Even Anne, 
James's younger daughter, with her husband, Prince George of 



470 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Denmark, forsooJc the king, and joined the interest of William 
and the nation. King James being now deserted, fled to France. 

England was now again brought to the same point as at the 
death of Charles I., with the benefit of a little more horrid ex- 
perience. A "Convention-Parliament" declared the king's flight 
an abdication, and then settled the crown upon William and Mary. 

The Duke of Buckingham describes the two brother-kings, Charles 
II., and James II., thus: "The elder could see things, if he would • 
and the younger would see things, if he could." 



PERIOD Y. FROM THE REVOLUTION, 5692 A. M., AND 1688 A. C. TO QUEEN 
VICTORIA, 5864 A. M., AND 1860, A. C. 

William III. and Mary. — Upon the accession of William and 
Mary, 1688, the question of prerogatives and rights was brought to 
a decision. The British Constitution now became fixed and de- 
termined. The Protestant succession was secured ; religious tolera- 
tion granted ; and Presbyterianism reestablished in Scotland. This 
was only adopting the principles of Cromwell's administration, ex- 
cept that the people had now adjusted their differences with their 
king, which matter he reserved for them to do in their own way 
and time. 

Some of the most important articles in the Declaration, fixing the 
"prerogatives of the king, and the rights of the people," were these: 
1. The king cannot suspend the laws, or their execution ; 2. He 
cannot levy money without the consent of Parliament ; 3. The sub- 
jects have a right to petition the Crown ; 4. A standing army can- 
not be kept in time of peace, but with the consent of Parliament ; 
5. Elections and parliamentary debates must be free, and parlia- 
ments must be frequently assembled. Many other important meas- 
ures were recorded, among which was liberty of the press. 

By favoring such measures as these, Charles I. might have saved 
his head, as Cromwell has his fame. 

Some of the High-Church bishops refused to take oath of allegi- 
ance to William, and were deprived of their stations. Ireland still 
adhered to James; and the Parliament of that country declared 
William an usurper. Being assisted by Louis XIV. of France, 
James landed, with some French forces, in Ireland, where he was 
joined by a large number of Irishmen ; but he was defeated by 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 471 

William, at the river Boyne, when the country submitted to the 
new king. A large French fleet, in the service of James, was 
destroyed off Cape la Hogue, by Admiral Bussell, after a bloody 
contest of ten hours. By the Peace of Ryswick, which followed, 
the title of William to the crown was acknowledged. 

After the death of James, however, a son of his was proclaimed 
Kiug of England, at St. Germaine, France, and treated as such at 
the Court of Versailles. Indignant at this piece of insolence, both 
Houses of Parliament declared their willingness to assist William to 
their utmost to redress such an insult ; and the whole nation joined 
in a cry of war with France. In the midst of preparations for this 
event, William was suddenly removed by death. Mary died seven 
years before. 

It was during the reign of William that the system of borrowing 
money on remote funds commenced, and the foundation laid for the 
present national debt. The sanction of Parliament was also ob- 
tained for a standing army in the same reign. 

Anne. — She was second daughter of James II. Notwithstand- 
ing the dissolute character of her father, she acquired and merited 
the title of " Good Queen Anne." 

The reign of Anne has been termed the Augustan Age of Eng- 
land, from the literary characters who adorned the time, — among 
whom were Newton, Locke, Addison, etc. 

In the first year of her reign England, Germany, and Holland, 
united in a war against Louis XIV., in order to check his ambition. 
The command of the allied army was given to the great DnJce of 
Marlborough, Prince Eugene acting as the imperial general. The 
object of the allies was fully attained by the victories of Blenheim, 
JRamillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. Louis was forced to ask a 
truce, when the Peace of Utrecht was concluded in 1713. In this 
treaty Spain yielded to England all right to Gibraltar and the 
island of Minorca, and France resigned all her pretensions to Hud- 
son's Bay, Nova Scotia, St. Christopher's, and Newfoundland. 

Another important event of Anne's reign was the constitutional 
union of England and Scotland, under her common name, Great 
Britain. In this union it was stipulated that the united kingdoms 
should be represented by one and the same Parliament ; that Scot- 
land should be represented by sixteen peers, and forty-five com- 
moners ; and that all peers of Scotland should be peers of England, 
and rank next after English peers. 

The latter part of this reign was disturbed by party feuds, be- 
tween the Whigs and Tories, respecting divine rights, passive obedi- 
ence, etc. Queen Anne died of an apoplectic disorder, brought on 



472 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

by a long Cabinet Council, in which the members fell into violent 
altercations with one another, to the great grief of the queen. 

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK, OR HANOVER. 

Geoege I. — He ascended the throne, upon the death of Anne, 
1714. He was Elector of Hanover. His accession took place with- 
out the slightest disturbance of public tranquillity. It was Protes- 
tantism that gave the throne to the house of Hanover. A son of 
James II. made some effort to obtain the crown, but the nation 
acknowledged him as only the Pretender. 

George was unassuming in his manners ; a man of great appli- 
cation to business ; and his reign, on the whole, was pacific and 
j)rosperous. 

Geoege II. — He succeeded his father, in 1727, and, like him, 
favored the Whigs ; he also showed too great a fondness for his 
German possessions, to please his English subjects. 

The great Minister of State in this reign was Sir Robert Walpole. 

He is represented by some as depraved, and by others as virtuous, 
in politics. 

England became involved in the war of the Austrian Succession, 
and the king commanded his army in person on the Continent. 
After the " variety in war," Maria Theresa, by the Peace of Aix-la- 
Chapelle, in 1748, was confirmed in her claim to the throne. While 
King George II. was absent on the Continent, Charles Edward, the 
young Pretender, assisted by Louis XV. of France, made an effort to 
recover the throne of the Stuarts. Landing in Scotland, he put 
himself at the head of an army, and defeated the royal forces in 
the battles of Preston-Pans and Falkirk ; but he was afterwards 
entirely defeated, by the Duke of Cumberland, at the decisive 
battle of Culloden. This was the last battle that has been fought 
on the soil of Great Britain, and the expiring effort of the Stuart 
family to ascend the throne they had forfeited by their egregious 
follies and mortal crimes. 

In 1755 a war broke out between Great Britain and France, on 
account of encroachments made upon British territories in North 
America. The British finally took Louisburg, Fort du Quesne, 
Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara; and finally, under the brave 
Wolfe, the city of Quebec was taken. Wolfe, having gained the 
Heights of Abraham during the night, was in battle array in the 
morning. By his adroitness he drew Montcalm, the French gen- 
eral, out of the city into the field. Previous to the engagement, 
Montcalm agreed not to bring his horse into the field, if Wolfe 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 473 

would not his cannon. To this Wolfe agreed. At the same time, 
fearing treachery, he had his guns all in readiness at his rear. ISTo 
sooner had a fair opportunity (as Montcalm thought) presented 
itself, than he ordered his horse to charge. Upon this, Wolfe opened 
a brisk connonade, which frightened and turned the French horse 
upon their own infantry, and hastened their defeat. With this vic- 
tory all was surrendered to the British. 

Extensive conquests were also made at this time in India by the 
British. 

George III. — He was grandson to the late king, and succeeded 
him in 1760. He was the first king of the house of Brunswick that 
was born in England. He came to the throne at an auspicious time. 
The arms of Great Britain were everywhere victorious, and the 
administration able and popular. This war with France was soon 
after brought to a close, by the Peace of Paris, and Canada and 
other territories were confirmed to England. 

'William Pitt (afterwards Lord Chatham), one of the greatest 
statesmen England ever had, exerted a powerful influence over the 
nation at this period. Where England followed his advice, she 
found it good ; and when rejected, she had to regret it. A very 
striking instance of this is seen in the result of the oppressive course 
pursued by the British government' towards the American Colonies. 
Against those impolitic and oppressive measures Pitt remonstrated, 
and warned the government of the sure and disastrous (to England) 
consequences that would follow. But Pitt could not turn the pur- 
pose of the obstinate old king ; but, after George had gone through 
with the programme Pitt gave him, he was obliged to sign a quit 
claim to Boston, etc., — upon the defeat of Cornwallis, — in favor of 
General George Washington, in 1783. 

Another important affair, in the reign of George III., was the 
Revolution in France, in 1789, in which England and all Europe 
were involved. In this great struggle for the balance of power, both 
England and her allies, against France, were directed by the policy 
of William Pitt ; and he, more than any other man, wrought the over- 
throw of Bonaparte. The prominent victories achieved by the 
British were those of the Nile and Trafalgar, by Nelson, and of 
Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria, and Waterloo, by the Duke of Wel- 
lington. Waterloo was the last battle of nations; when the world's 
wars ceased, and general peace has since been maintained. And 
may it long remain ! 

In 1792 Lord Cornwallis was sent to India to settle disturbance 
and quell rebellion, under Tippoo, which he was successful in doing. 
In 1798 a rebellion broke out in Ireland, aided by France. The 

60 



474 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

object of France was to wholly sever Ireland from Britain; but the 
attempt to land troops on the island was frustrated by storms and 
the naval operations of Admirals Duncan and Warren. 

Lord Cornwallis brought the rebellion to a successful termination, 
when the favorite project of Pitt for uniting Ireland to Great Britain 
was consummated in 1800. 

The attempt of Bonaparte to exclude British commerce from the 
Continent, provoked the British Orders in Council, which were, 
to impose a duty on all vessels trading with France, to be paid at 
some British port. To oppose this, Bonaparte issued his Milan 
Decree, confiscating all vessels that submitted to the British Orders 
in Council. In this dilemma, the United States passed a decree of 
Non-intercourse with England and France. American shipping 
was harassed, and this brought on the war of 1812. 

By the Peace of Ghent, December 24, 1814, these three great 
nations of modern times confirmed the peace of the world: and in 
their hands rests now the "Ark of Power." May it be borne into 
the "holy of holies," and the "Temple of Janus" closed forever! 

The last ten years of George III. he was afflicted with insanity, 
when the Prince of Wales acted as regent. The old king died in 
1820, having reigned sixty-nine years — the longest of any English 
monarch, and second only to the longest reign on record, viz., that 
of Louis XIY. of France, of seventy-two years. 

George IY. — He was son of George III., and was crowned king 
in 1820. He is represented as having great fancy and vanity for 
dress and show. While a prince, he favored the Whigs, but as 
regent and king, he united with the Tories. The principal events of 
his reign were the interference in favor of the Greeks in maintain- 
ing their independence, — in which the great naval victory of JVav- 
arino was gained over the Turkish fleet by the united powers of 
England, Russia, and France, — and a war in India, by which a large 
part of the Burman Empire was added to the English possessions in 
the East. 

A bill was passed in his reign abolishing the disabilities of the 
Roman Catholics. Also the "Test Act," passed in time of Charles 
II., making the Episcopal sacrament a qualification for civil office and 
employment, was repealed in 1828, — a very important step towards 
religious liberty. During his regency and reign, England combated 
the great Napoleon. 

William IV. — He was brother of the late king, and succeeded 
him in 1830. 

The question of reform, in the representation of the people in the 
House of Commons, had for some time been agitated. Soon after 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 475 

the accession of William, the Duke of Wellington, the prime minis- 
ter, expressed himself very strongly against reform. But the duke 
and his colleagues, finding they were not supported by the House of 
Commons, resigned. This brought a Whig ministry into office, 
headed by Earl Grey. 

The great measure of parliamentary reform was brought forward 
by this ministry, and, after a long and violent struggle, was carried 
through both houses of Parliament in 1832. Slow, indeed, must 
have been the progress of reform, when England was not able to 
bring about a settled basis for constitutional liberty short of fifteen 
hundred years. But, happily for that nation and for the world, the 
problem has been solved ; and, before the glorious light of freedom, 
which has been achieved by the toils, faith, and blood of our fore- 
fathers, the darkness of tyranny is disappearing. 

The constituent parts of Parliament, under the Reform Bill of 
1832, are, the king, lords, and commons. 

The king (or crown) is hereditary. 

The British House of Lords, or Peers, is composed of the Arch- 
bishops of Canterbury and York, with the twenty-four bishops of 
England, — called lords spiritual, — with the dukes, marquises, earls, 
viscounts, and barons (the five ranks of English nobility), — called 
lords temporal. To these add sixteen peers, delegated by the Scot- 
tish nobility, and four spiritual and twenty-eight temporal lords to 
represent the prelacy and peerage of Ireland. 

The British House of Commons has five hundred representatives 
for England and Wales, fifty-three for Scotland, and one hundred and 
five for Ireland ; — total, six hundred and fifty-eight. 

Victoria. — This best of England's sovereigns, the present queen, 
came to the throne in 1837. It is said of her, that when one of the 
lord's spiritual conveyed to her the intelligence of the death of Wil- 
liam IV., and that she was to succeed him on the throne, her request 
was that his reverence would immediately offer prayer in her behalf ! 
Her life thus far comports with such a consecration of herself before 
the throne of high heaven ere she ascended the British throne. 

The years 1857-58 of her reign are rendered memorable for the 
siege and capture of Sebastopol by the English, French, and Turk- 
ish forces ; for the " mutiny in India," and the assumption of the 
government of India by the crown, superseding thereby the East 
India Company. In the year 1860 the Prince of Wales visits Canada. 



476 HISTORY OF EMPIRE, 



IV. — AGE OF CONSOLIDATION. 

AMERICA — FROM THE REFORMATION FORWARD. 

CIVIL HISTORY. 

PERIOD I. FROM THE DISCOVERY, 4990 A. M., AND 986 A. C, TO THE LANDING 
OF THE PILGRIMS, 5624 A. M., AND 1620 A. C. 

The design of this volume does not require a very minute detail 
of even the leading events that have transpired in the western world. 
Much has already been written upon these subjects, and most read- 
ers are familiar with them. And then, again, the design of the 
work requires, in order to its completeness, that the "trail" of the 
New World should not be overlooked ; for it is not impossible that, 
like the departure from the ancient custom, when " the best of the 
wine was reserved to the last of the feast," so the American nation, 
though last, may be equal to the first and best. 

NORTHMEN. 

The date generally assigned for the discovery of America is 1492. 
As to modern events it is so. But that it was inhabited previously, 
is a fact ; and that adventurers visited it before that time, are facts 
generally credited. And yet, when it is claimed that the aborigines 
of America are descendants of the " Ten Tribes of Israel," the prin- 
cipal evidence that can be adduced on the point is mere conjecture, 
without probability. 

The voyages of the " Northmen " — between the years 986 and 
1015 — have obtained credit in the historic world. Eric the Red, 
with his household, emigrated from Iceland to Greenland, and formed 
a settlement. Among the company was Heriulf Bardson. Their 
places of abode they named after themselves, as, jSWcs-fiod, and 
Heriulfs-nes. 

Biarne. — This first discoverer of America, son of Bardson of 
Eyrar, in Iceland, was absent on a trading voyage to Norway when 
his father left for Greenland with Eric. Biarne, finding upon his 
return that his father had gone, determined to follow him. 

Setting sail in the summer of 986, Biarne and his company were 
soon enveloped in fogs, and driven by northerly winds for many days 
they knew not where. At last they came in sight of a land without 
mountains, overgrown with woods, and presenting gentle elevations. 
Not knowing the land, they put to sea again. After two days' sail 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 477 

they came to another land, wooded and flat. Bearing away again, 
they came to a third land, which Biarne discovered to be an island. 
This was mountainous, and, looking desolate, they returned, and 
in four days arrived at Heriulfs-nes, in Greenland. This voyage 
excited great curiosity in Greenland. 

Eight years after, Biarne visited Eric, Earl of Norway; and, in 
relating his adventures to him, Biarne was censured for not being 
more thorough in his investigations of the new countries. On his 
return, a "voyage of discovery" was projected. 

Leif. — He was son of Eric the Red, and being anxious to know 
more about the lands Biarne saw, bought his ship, and, with a crew 
of thirty-five men, set out for the strange lands, in the year 1000. 

The first land they made was the last seen by Biarne. Here they 
went ashore. In the distance were mountains ; between them and 
the shore was a plain of slate (hella). This they named Hettu-l&nd, 
and is now called Newfoundland. The next land they found was 
covered with wood, had a low coast, and cliffs of white sand ; this 
they called Mar kl and (Woodland), now known as Nova Scotia. 

Sailing from this, with a north-east wind, in two days they came 
to an island. Passing this, they sailed westward, to the mainland, 
near the mouth of a river. Here they concluded to winter, and 
threw up some houses, which were called Xeifs-hndiY (Leif's booths). 
In a ramble of the party, one, a German, named Tyrker, found some 
grape-vines, and the country, from that circumstance, was called 
" Vineland." In the spring the voyagers returned to Greenland. 
This same Vineland is now known as Massachusetts and Rhode 
Island. 

Thorwald. — He was brother of Leif, and, anxious to explore 
Yineland still further, borrowed his brother's ship, and set sail in 
1002. In 1003 a part of the company started from Leifs-booths, and 
explored still south, finding the country very beautiful. Returning 
in autumn, Thorwald left LeiiVbooths again, going east, and then 
north, passed a remarkable headland, enclosing a bay. This land 
they called "Kialarnes" (Keel-cape), from its resemblance to the 
keel of their ship. By modern geographers it has been likened to 
a horn, and to a sickle, and is called Cape Cod. 

Sailing along the east shore, they turned into a frith, and while 
there encountered a party of Skrellings (Esquimaux). A fight en- 
sued, when eight of them were killed, the ninth escaping in a canoe. 
They were soon attacked by a large number, and in the affray Thor- 
wald was mortally wounded by an arrow. His dying request was to 
be buried there, and that they should plant a cross at the head and 
one at the foot of his grave, and name the place Krossanes (Cross- 



47S HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ness), now known as Gurnet Point. This expedition returned to 
Greenland in 1005. 

Thorstein. — He was third son of Eric the Red, and upon hear- 
ing of the death of his brother, determined to make a voyage to 
recover his body. He set sail in the same ship, accompanied by his 
wife Gudrida. But, losing their way, they were driven about all 
summer, and finally landed in Greenland. Thorstein soon after died. 
In the spring his wife went to Erics-ford. 

Gudrida. — She was daughter-in-law of Eric the Red. In 1006 
a new and larger expedition was fitted out. In the summer two 
vessels arrived at Greenland ; one was commanded by Thorfinn Karl- 
sefne, a wealthy nobleman. At a festival, where he and Gudrida 
were present, Thorfinn was captivated with the young widow, and, 
strange to tell, married her in the following winter. At this festival 
the voyage to Vineland was the subject of conversation ; and again, 
at the nuptials, Vineland is discussed. At this latter time, Gudrida, 
the first female American discoverer, proposed, and prevailed upon 
her husband to make a voyage, and plant a colony in Vineland. 

The voyage was successful, and the party landed at LeifVbooths. 
The bay around they called " Hop," to which situation Mount Hope's 
bay corresponds. Not long after, Gudrida gave birth to a son, 
who was named Snorre. Hence, Gudrida has the honor of being the 
first Euro- American mother, and Snorre the name of the first Amer- 
ican boy. Hostilities with the Skrellings induced them to return to 
Ericksford in 1011. 

Freydisa. — This woman was daughter of Eric the Red. She 
accompanied the last expedition to Vineland ; and, while the settlers 
were fleeing before the Skrellings, she came across the body of 
Snorre Thorbardson, and seeing his sword near by him, she seized it, 
and, turning upon the Skrellings, drove them back. 

At the instigation of Freydisa, another voyage to Vineland was 
projected, — she having persuaded two captains of a ship to go and 
share equally with her in the spoils they might obtain. Each party 
was to have a company of thirty-five men (Freydisa managed to 
conceal five more for herself), and they reached Leif's-booths in 
1012. This piece of treachery in Freydisa destroyed the confidence 
and also the peace of the expedition. She finally prevailed upon 
her husband to destroy the two captains and their followers. After 
this piece of homicide, they returned to Greenland, in 1013, with 
the most valuable cargo ever before carried from the New World. 
Thence he proceeded to Norway, sold his goods, and then returned 
to Iceland and purchased the Glaumboe estate, where they resided 
during life. Accounts of other expeditions are in existence, as late 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 479 

as the year 1347. And it may be further presumed, that the inter- 
course with America was continued very nearly, if not quite, to the 
time of Columbus. 

RELICS. 

An old stone cemetery, discovered about fifty years ago, on Rains- 
ford Island, in the Bay of Boston, containing a skeleton, and a sword 
with a hilt of iron, points out the Scandinavians. Also a skeleton 
found at Fall River, Massachusetts, and with it a bronze breast- 
plate, bronze tubes belonging to a belt, and arrow heads, none of 
which belong to the Indian, or modern European implements. 

A Runic (Gothic) inscription, still to be seen, on Dighton Rock, 
on the east side of Taunton River, which is exposed and covered at 
every ebb and flow of the tide, points to early adventurers. 

A stone tower, at Newport, Rhode Island, indicates the Goths as 
its builders. It is very firmly built ; circular in form ; twenty-five feet 
high. Its diameter outside is twenty-three feet ; inside, eighteen feet 
nine inches ; supported on pillars ten feet high ; the arches twelve feet 
six inches high ; and the foundation extends to the depth of five feet. 

Professor Rafn concludes, from the want of indications about this 
tower of a warlike character, and the absence of similar structures, 
that it must have been built and used for a baptistry. This much, 
however, is plain, that the footprints of a race different from the 
aborigines of America, and previous to the time of Columbus, are 
traceable in these relics. Still, these discoveries of the Northmen 
are of no practical account in the subsequent history of America, as 
they do not appear to have any connection with the enterprise of 
Columbus, from which the growth of empire on this continent begins. 

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

" Columbus was a sailor brave, — 
The first that cross'd th' Atlantic wave, — 
In fourteen hundred ninety-two, 
He came far o'er the ocean blue." 

This prince of discoverers was born in the territory of Genoa; 
and still may be seen, in the village of Cocoletto, the humble man- 
sion — standing so near the sea that its spray is often thrown upon 
it — where " Colon," as the Spaniards call him, first saw the light. 
His attention was early directed to sea affairs ; and he made himself 
useful in drawing charts, and thereby improved his taste and knowl- 
edge of the world. From his own observations, he early imbibed 
the notion that land could be found by sailing in a westerly direction. 



480 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

The great desire of his times was to find a passage to the East 
Indies, without having to cross the Isthmus of Suez. This Columbus 
thought could be effected by sailing directly west. Having mastered 
his theory of discovery, Columbus could not rest until he had applied 
the practical test. He first made propositions to the State of Genoa, 
and asked aid to carry out his project, as early as 1484; but all was 
rejected. He then made proposals to John II., of Portugal. His 
enterprise was so far entertained by John, as to listen to his plans, — 
but for the purpose of getting his secret, and then to intercept 
Columbus, by sending an expedition before him, and so rob him of 
the honor of the new discovery. This plot failing, the king desired 
a second consideration; when Columbus, indignant at the treatment 
he had received, determined to apply for help elsewhere. 

He then sent his brother Bartholomew to seek aid from Henry 
VII., of England (author of ship "Great Harry"), while Columbus 
made application to Ferdinand and Isabella, of Spain. Obtaining 
no favor from Henry, and meeting so many delays and insults from 
the Court of Spain, Columbus was about departing for France, to 
seek aid there, when Queen Isabella consented to assist him. The 
Articles of Agreement were signed at Santa Fe, in Grenada, April 
17, 1492. 

Three vessels were put into the service, manned and victualled for 
twelve months, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. The names of 
the vessels were, " Santa Maria," " Pinta," and " Nina ; " commanded 
severally by Columbus, Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincent Yanez 
Pinzon. With a crew of ninety men, these " Argonauts " set sail 
from Palos, in Spain, Friday, August 3d, 1492. Steering direct 
for the Canary Islands, they stayed and rested as long as they dared 
to, from fear of three vessels the Portuguese had sent to attack them. 

On the sixth of September they struck out into seas to them un- 
known, without a chart to direct their course. After sailing about 
two hundred leagues (six or eight hundred miles), the variation of 
the compass (a new and strange phenomenon) greatly alarmed Colum- 
bus, and nearly brought on a mutiny among the crew. After thirty 
days more of sailing, the crew were again clamorous to desist and 
return. At this time Columbus quieted them by a promise, that if 
no land appeared in three days, he would return. But, happily, on 
the night of the eleventh of October, Columbus discovered a light, 
and the morning dispalyed the joyful sight of land. A hymn of 
thanksgiving to Almighty God was sung by the whole crew. Their 
mutiny was turned into most ardent expressions of admiration for 
their intrepid commander, with acknowledgments of their rashness 
and disobedience. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 481 

"No sooner were they on shore, than they kissed the ground, and 
returned thanks to God for his merciful preservation. Having taken 
possession of the island, in the name of the King and Queen of 
Spain, the sailors acknowledged his authority. The island first dis- 
covered was called St, Salvador, — known as Cat Island, among the 
group of the Bahamas. Touching afterwards Cuba and Hayti, he 
gave them the name Ilispaniola. Columbus, still supposing these 
islands were in close connection with India, called them West Indies, 
from having come to them by sailing in a westerly course. 

On his return to Spain, Columbus was greeted with all the applause 
the courts could bestow, — receiving the attentions even that were 
usually reserved for sovereigns. Isabella received him with open 
arms, and the courts that had spurned him, now solicited his presence, 
to do him honor. 

Among other attentions, the Grand Cardinal of Spain, Pedro 
Gonzales de Mendoza, invited Columbus to a banquet. It was at 
this banquet that the celebrated anecdote of the egg occurred. A 
contemptible dunce, present at the table, full of impudence, and 
jealousy at Columbus' fame, asked him the brainless question, that, 
" if he had not discovered the Indies, whether there were not men 
who would have been capable of the enterprise? " Columbus, look- 
ing with proper contempt upon the senseless fop, made no reply ; but, 
taking an egg, asked the company to make it stand upon one end. 
All attempted it, but in vain ; when he took it and struck it upon 
the table, so as to flat the end, and left it standing upon the broken 
part, — as much as to say, " No one in this company is competent to 
discover the Indies, without first being showed how ! " 

Columbus made two other voyages soon after, on the last of which, 
in 1498, he discovered South America. His fame, however, did not 
shield him from the jealousies and intrigues of the Court of Spain. 
While on his third voyage, he was accused (falsely), deprived of the 
government of Ilispaniola, and sent back to Spain in chains. The 
captain of the vessel which carried him, offered to take off his fet- 
ters ; but Columbus replied, " No I I wear these irons by order of 
their majesties, the rulers of Spain, .... and their command alone 
shall set me at liberty ! " 

Upon his arrival in Spain in fetters, the indignation of the people 
was aroused ; and, for a time, Ferdinand was made to feel ashamed 
of the (too frequent) Punic justice and gratitude of kings. Colum- 
bus never forgot this shameful treatment, and always carried his fet- 
ters with him, hung them in his chamber, and ordered them to be 
buried with him. 

Intent upon finding a passage to the Indies, he made a fourth 

61 



482 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

voyage, and examined the coast of Darien, and was shipwrecked on 
the coast of the island of Jamaica. Here he gained a great influ- 
ence over the natives by taking advantage of an eclipse of the 
moon. He predicted that the Great Spirit would put his hand over 
the moon at a set time. Happening as he had told them, he was 
greatly venerated for his familiarity with the Great Spirit. After a 
very calamitous adventure, mutinies of his men, treachery, and con- 
flicts with the natives,, hunger and sickness, he returned to Spain for 
the last time. 

Worn out with fatigue, disappointment, and sorrow, he died at 
Valladolid, Spain, May 15, 1506, aged seventy years. His bones 
are still preserved in the cathedral at Havana, Cuba. 

Vasco de Gama. — He (a Portuguese) first doubled the Cape of 
Good Hope, in 1497, and sailed to India. This was the leading 
object of Columbus, to find a passage to the East Indies. 

John Cabot. — He was a Venetian by birth, though residing in 
Bristol, England. He received a commission from Henry "VII., and 
sailed, in May 1407, on a voyage of discovery, accompanied by his 
son, Sebastian Cabot, by whom the Continent of North America 
was discovered. 

They struck Prima Vista (Newfoundland), and made a trip as far 
south as Florida. Along the shore, at various places, they erected 
crosses, and took formal possession of the country in behalf of the 
Crown of England. (Henry's desire for a slice was greater than 
when Columbus sent his brother to him for aid to make the first 
discovery.) 

Americus Vespucius. — He was a native of Florence, and accom- 
panied Ojeda in a voyage to America, in 1499. He wrote an account 
of his voyage, claiming to have discovered the mainland, and 
claiming the right of giving his own name to the continent. In- 
stead of Columbia, this continent was named, very unjustly, America. 

Magellan. — This Portuguese navigator discovered and passed 
through the straits that bear his name, in 1519, and sailed into the 
Pacific Ocean as far as the Philippine Isles, where he lost his life. 
But his officers proceeded, and made the first voyage around the 



Fernando Cortez. — In 1519, he sailed with a fleet of eleven 
ships and six hundred and seventeen men from Cuba, landed at Vera 
Cruz, and invaded Mexico. Having fire-arms, — which the Mexicans 
knew nothing about, — he made very rapid advances upon the city 
of Mexico, where he was hospitably received by Montezuma. 

Cortez caused him to be seized in his palace. The Mexicans, in- 
dignant at the treachery, flew to arms, when Montezuma fell, and the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 483 

Spaniards were driven from the city. But, obtaining a reinforce- 
ment, Mexico fell into the hands of the conquering Spaniard. 

Pizarro. — A settlement of Spaniards was made at Panama in 
1518. From this place Pizarro sailed, in 1525, and discovered the 
rich and flourishing kingdom of Peru. 

He then sought, of Charles V. of Spain, and obtained a commis- 
sion as governor, and a military force to subdue it. He again sailed 
from Panama, in 1531, with three vessels and one hundred and eighty 
men. He landed, and advanced to the residence of the Incd, or 
King Atabalipa, and invited him to a friendly interview, and then 
seized him as a prisoner. At the same time, Pizarro's men fell upon 
the defenceless inhabitants, and slew four thousand of them. 

The Inca, m order to procure his release, agreed to fill his prison, 
— which was twenty-two feet by seventeen, — as high as he could 
reach, with vessels of gold and silver. This Pizarro promised to 
accept as his ransom. The treasure thus brought together amounted 
to over seven and a half millions of dollars. But the perfidious 
Spaniard, being joined by Ahnagro, kept the Inca, tried him on 
charge of being a usurper and idolater, condemned and executed 
him. 

The Spanish chiefs afterwards quarrelled with each other, and a 
civil war ensued. Almagro was taken prisoner, condemned, and 
executed, and soon after Pizarro was assassinated. The Peruvians 
then arose to drive out the invaders, but were overcome at last. 

The Mexicans and Peruvians at this time understood architecture, 
sculpture, mining and working the precious metals ; were clothed, 
cultivated their lands, and had a code of laws, civil and religious. 
But from whom they descended, or how this continent was peopled, 
is yet a question. 

James C artier. — In 1534 he sailed on an expedition, entered 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and took possession of the country in the 
name of the French king, and styled it New France, afterwards 
changed to Canada. 

Sir Walter Raleigh. — He, in 1584, under a commission from 
Queen Elizabeth, arrived in America, entered Pamlico Sound, and 
proceeded to Roanoke Island, and took possession of the country. 
On his return to England, he gave so fine a description of the coun- 
try, that Elizabeth gave it the name of Virginia, to commemorate 
its discovery during the reign of a virgin queen. 

Several attempts were made — by Sir Walter, Sir Francis Drake, 
and Sir Richard Grenmlle — to make settlements in Virginia, but 
they all proved unsuccessful. 

Sir Walter was finally beheaded. 



48-1 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Captain Ne^tort. — Under the patent of James I., two com- 
panies were formed for the settlement of America, dated April 10, 
1606. These were the London and the Plymouth companies. 

On December 10th, of the same year, the London Company sent 
out a colony to Virginia, under Captain Newport, of one hundred 
and five persons, to commence a settlement. This company made 
the first effectual attempt at settling a colony in the New World. In 
1G07 they sailed up the Powhatan River, which they named James 
River, after King James I. On a beautiful peninsula they built a 
fort, and commenced a town, which they called Jamestown. 

The government of the Colony was first in the hands of a council 
of seven, with a president chosen from among their number. The 
name of the first president was Wingfield. The most influential man, 
however, in the company was Captain John Smith, who was the 
second year chosen president, and who was styled the Father of the 
Colony. He had before commanded a company of cavalry in the 
Austrian army, in a war with the Turks, was taken prisoner, and 
carried to Constantinople as a slave. From this condition he extri- 
cated himself. 

The year in which the settlement commenced, Captain Smith was 
taken prisoner by two hundred Indians, while hunting. But they let 
him go again, being so pleased with his valor and arts. Soon after 
he was taken by another party of three hundred, and brought before 
Powhatan, the greatest chief of the region. He was sentenced to 
death, and brought to execution. 

Pocahontas, the chief's daughter, only twelve years of age, had 
interceded in behalf of Smith, without success. But while his head 
was placed upon a stone, where his brains were to be beaten out 
with clubs, Pocahontas rushed forward, and, laying her head upon 
Smith's, showed that she was determined to share his fate. Pow- 
hatan relented, and Smith was set free. She rendered eminent 
service in protecting the colonies from the depredations of the 
Indians. 

Pocahontas was afterwards married to a Mr. Rolfe, a respectable 
young planter. The nuptials were celebrated with great pomp. 
She afterwards went to England with her husband, was instructed 
in the Christian religion, and baptized. She died soon after return- 
ing to America, at the age of twenty-two. She left a son, from 
whom sprung some of the most respectable families of Virginia. 
Such was the " Joan " of Virginia. 

Upon the return of Captain Smith to England, the Colony was 
almost annihilated; but the timely arrival of Lord Delevan, with one 
hundred and fifty men, revived their hopes and prospects. At the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 485 

end of twelve years the Colony contained only six hundred persons ; 
but in 1619 the number was increased, by the arrival of eleven ships 
with twelve hundred and sixteen new settlers. 

Many of the planters at .this time were mere adventurers, not 
intending to make a stay in the country only long enough to make 
a fortune, and then return. In order to detain them in the country, 
an expedient was devised for supplying them with wives. (See sim- 
ilar instances under Romulus, page 329 ; Dido, page 324 ; and Inter- 
regnum, page 75.) In 1620-21 one hundred and fifty unmarried 
females, " young and uncorrupt," were brought over and sold to 
such as wished to purchase, for one hundred pounds of tobacco each. 
The price rose to one hundred and fifty pounds as the number grew 
less and the competition increased, — tobacco being seventy-five 
cents per pound. This sale of wives was simply to raise the passage- 
money. 

About the same time, twenty negroes were carried to Virginia, in 
a Dutch vessel, and sold for slaves. 

The Colony suffered from restrictions on its trade, under Sir 
John Harvey, and again, in 1676, under Charles II., which gave 
rise to " Bacon? s Rebellion," in which Jamestown was burnt. (In 
1776 another rebellion occurred in America, from " restrictions in 
trade.") 

Henry Hudson. — He was an Englishman, and in 1609, while in 
the employment of the Dutch, discovered the river to which he 
gave his own name, Hudson. The first settlers on this river were 
Dutch. They built, in 1614, two forts — one at Albany, and another 
on Manhattan Island, where New York city now stands. The coun- 
try was called New Netherlands, and Manhattan, '•New Amsterdam?'' 
The government of Netherlands was administered by three govern- 
ors — Van Twiller, Kieft, and Stuyvesant. In 1664, in a war be- 
tween Charles II. of England, and Holland, the former gave New 
Amsterdam to his brother, the Duke of York, and Stuyvesant was 
obliged to surrender to Colonel Nicholls, commander of an English 
force, when the city and country were named New York. 



PERIOD II. FROM THE LANDING 0E THE PILGRIMS, 5624 A. M., AND 1620 A. C, 
TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES, 
5787 A. M., AND 1783 A. C. 

PILGRIMS. 

Upon the survey of the coast, in 1614, by Captain Smith, from 
Penobscot to Cape Cod, - — a map of which he presented to King 



486 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

Charles, — the name of the country was by him changed from North 
Virginia to New England. 

In 1620 a patent was granted by King James to Ferdinando 
Gorges, Duke of Lenox, and others, styled "The Council of Plym- 
outh, in the County of Devon, for Settling and Governing Xew Eng- 
land." In the same year a company set sail, September 6th, from 
Plymouth, England, in the Mayflower, for Hudson's River. But the 
captain was bribed to carry them farther north, when they landed upon 
the famous rock known by the name "Plymouth Rock," December 22, 
1620. Their number was one hundred and one at first, but one was 
added by birth during the voyage. This colony of the Pilgrims 
was soon reduced almost one-half by sickness and death. 

They adopted a Republican form of government, choosing John 
Carver their first governor, who, dying in 1621, was succeeded by 
William Bradford. The governor was chosen annually. At first 
he had one assistant, afterwards five, and finally seven. In order to 
protect themselves against the Indians, they formed a military organ- 
ization, and appointed Miles Standish their captain. They learned 
the culture of Indian corn from Sqacmto, a native. 

In 1621, they were visited by Samoset, a petty sachem, who sa- 
luted them with, " Welcome, Englishmen ! welcome, Englishmen ! " 
By his assistance a treaty of peace was formed with Massasoit, chief 
of the Wompanoags, the most powerful Indian chief of the region, 
and from whom the State of Massachusetts is named. This peace 
lasted fifty-four years, or until " King Philip's War." 

Xew Hampshire. — In 1623 two settlements were begun, by per- 
sons from England, on the banks of the Piscataqua, — one at Ports- 
mouth, the other at Dover. 

Xew Jersey. — The Dutch and Danes began settlements here 
in 1625. 

Delaware. — A company of Swedes colonized it in 1627. 

Massachusetts Bat. — A colony, with this title, was commenced 
in 1628, by a company of adventurers, under John Endicott, who 
settled at Naumkeag, now Salem. 

In 1630, fifteen hundred persons arrived, under John Winthrop, 
who was appointed governor of the colony, and soon after they com- 
menced the settlement of Boston and other towns near. Ten years 
after the first settlement of Massachusetts Bay, Harvard College, 
Cambridge, was founded. 

Connecticut. — The towns of Windsor, Weathersfield, and Hart- 
ford were settled in 1635, by emigrants from Xewton and Water- 
town, in Massachusetts. 

Rhode Island. — This state dates its settlement from the banish- 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 487 

ment of Roger Williams, in 1636, from Massachusetts, on account of 
his religious opinions. He removed with his family to Mooshawic^ 
and began a plantation, which place he named "Providence," in 
gratitude for Divine favors. 

Maryland. — In 1637, Charles I. granted a patent to Lord Balti- 
more, of a tract of country on the Chesapeake Bay, which, in honor 
of the king's wife, Henrietta Maria, he called Maryland. 

New Haven. -—This colony was formed in 1638, in consequence 
of the English going thither to quell the invasions of the Pequods. 

" United Colonies of New England." — For the better security 
of the settlements, against the depredations of the Indians, the colo- 
nies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven 
united in a confederacy, in 1643, with the above title. 

This was but the foreshadowing of a more permanent union, 
against a more formidable enemy, which took place in 1776. 

North Carolina. — This state was first settled by Virginians, in 
1663. 

South Carolina. — The settlement of this state followed, in 1670. 
The Carolinas were so named from Charles IX., King of France, 
under whose patronage the coast was surveyed, in 1563. 

King Philip. — The war waged by this Indian chief, in the years 
1675-76, was the most important and savage of all the colonies had 
to encounter. — Just one hundred years before the Revolution. 

Philip was the son of Massasoit, and the last of the Wampanoags. 
He, seeing the growing power of the white men, resolved to make 
one desperate effort to snatch from their grasp his hunting-grounds, 
country, and liberty. His residence was at Mount Hope, Rhode 
Island. He was a man of talents and courage ; shrewd in politics, and 
a great warrior. He succeeded in enlisting most of the New Eng- 
land tribes in his behalf. 

The greatest battle of those early times was during this war, and 
known as the Swamp Fight. It took place in December, 1675, at 
the Indian fortress, situated in a large swamp, in the western part of 
the township now known as South Kingston, Rhode Island. The 
English were commanded by Josiah Wtnslow, Governor of Plym- 
outh. They were victorious, but with great loss on both sides. 
This broke the Indian power in the country. Philip was afterwards 
shot by an Indian whom he had offended. 

Pennsylvania, — This state was early settled by Swedes; but 
little was done until the arrival of William Penn, in 1681, from whom 
it was named. Penn acquired this tract of land from Charles II., in 
consideration of debts due his father, Admiral Penn, from the Crown 
of England, for services rendered by him. 



488 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

In 1082, he laid out the plan of the city of Philadelphia. In no 
case in the history of the world has there been a more perfect illus- 
tration of the good result of " doing to others as we would they 
should do unto us," than in Penn's policy with the Indians ; show- 
ing the practicability of that law (when faith is kept) in the savage, 
as Avell as the civilized breast. In this case, Penn has far outdone the 
old Grecian sage, Lycurgus, who trained up the Spartans to the love 
and practice of war. 

Georgia. — This was the last settled of the original thirteen states, 
and named after George II. It was founded by General Oglethorpe, 
in 1732. 

Civil and religious intolerance drove a large portion of the first 
settlers of our country from their homes, and they sought here and 
found what there they desired but were denied. Rhode Island, 
Maryland, and Pennsylvania were the first civil communities that 
ever incorporated religious liberty into their original constitutions ; 
since which time, the world has been led to admit the wisdom and 
sound policy of such a course. No country on record ever was col- 
onized with so great a degree of intelligence and virtue, and with so 
just views, in the main, of the proper sphere of organized civil gov- 
ernment as America. 

Colonies Oppressed. — The sovereigns of England, who were of 
the despotic Stuart family, during the settlement of the colonies, 
were not satisfied with driving their subjects into the wilderness, but 
even there must lay upon them the iron rod of power. Anxious as 
were the colonists to secure charters to their new homes, from their 
sovereigns, thereby showing their respect and loyalty to the Crown, 
they began soon to see that their rights and privileges all lay in the 
hands of these rulers far away, and unless they rendered the most 
servile and implicit obedience, they would be stripped of those grants, 
robbed of their toils, and made homeless. 

Soon it was known that secret emissaries were going to and fro, 
seeking every possible occasion to prejudice the king and council 
against the colonists. The most notorious assent in this traitorous 
business was Edward Randolph, sent over to America by Charles 
II., in 1676, to spy out the liberties of the land. He boasted that he 
had crossed the Atlantic sixteen times in nine years, for the chief 
purpose of destroying the liberties of New England! He succeeded 
at last, and a writ was issued against the charters of the colonies, 
in 1683. 

Sir Edmund Andros, Governor of New York, was also appointed, 
by James II., Governor of New England. He arrived in Boston in 
1686, and summoned the colonies to surrender their charters. That 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 489 

of Massachusetts was given up ; but that of Connecticut was con- 
cealed by Captain Wadsworth in the hollow of an oak in Hartford. 
Sir Edmund put on the lion, and ruled in America as James did in 
England. But James' despotism in England drove him from the 
throne, and he fled to France. The news of the Revolution of 1688, 
and the accession of William and Mary, were hailed with ecstasy in 
America. 

Upon this, Sir Edmund, Randolph, and fifty others, were seized 
by the inhabitants of Boston, and imprisoned until they were ordered 
back to England for trial. Connecticut and Rhode Island resumed 
their charters, and reestablished their former government. Massa- 
chusetts Bay people petitioned for a new charter, which was at first 
refused, but finally granted, in 1692, in which Plymouth and the 
" Bay " colonies were united, and Maine and Nova Scotia annexed. 
In the old charter the public officers were chosen by the people, but 
in the new, appointed by the Crown. But, to make it palatable, Sir 
William Phips, a native of Maine, was appointed the first governor. 

War of the French and Indians. — No sooner had the col- 
onies obtained a little repose about their titles and lands, than a war 
of almost twenty-five years' duration broke out, — the French and 
Indians uniting to harass them. This war occurred during the reigns 
of William and Mary and Anne, — between 1688 and 1713. 

These were the most gloomy and devastating wars the colonies 
had yet experienced. During these wars in the colonies of New 
England and New York, eight thousand of the young men, the 
flower of the country, fell, either by the sword, or by diseases con- 
tracted in the public service. Deep mourning, for the lost and cap- 
tive, shrouded nearly every family in the country. 

These depredations by the French upon the English colonies were 
committed out of revenge for the war England was waging against 
France, which were terminated by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. 

Old French War. — From 1713 to 1744 the colonies had a 
term of comparative peace ; after which, another war broke out 
between Great Britain and France. 

The first and most important step by the colonies in this war, was 
the capture of Louisburg — on the Island of Cape Breton — by 
troops from New England, under command of Sir William Pepper- 
ell. This important place the French had rendered the Dunkirk, or 
Gibraltar, of America, by fortifying it at an expense of six millions 
of dollars. Its capture was of no small importance to the interests 
of New England. 

General Pepperell arrived at Canso, Nova Scotia, with four thou- 
sand and seventy troops, April 4, 1745, and, in three weeks was 

62 



490 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

joined by Commodore Warren, with four ships from England. The 
siege was soon after commenced, and continued until June 16, when 
Louisburg and the Island of Cape Breton were surrendered to the 
English. The news of this victory greatly elated the spirits of the 
colonists, and inspired them with a desire to conquer all the French 
possessions in North America. The French government was also 
aroused to retrieve their losses, and have revenge. Consequently, 
an ("Armada") armament, under Duke d'Anville, was sent out, 
consisting of eleven ships of the line, and thirty smaller vessels of 
war, besides transports, with three thousand regular troops, and forty 
thousand stand of arms for the French and Indians. The design was 
to retake Louisburg, and distress, and perhaps conquer, New Eng- 
land. 

The colonists were alarmed at the news of the sailing of this fleet, 
but were relieved of their fears by the destruction by storms of nearly 
the whole of it, and the suicide of one or both of the commanders. 
So that, without the aid of human means, the expedition was wholly 
frustrated. But, at the Peace of Aix-la- Chapelle, Louisburg was 
given up to France, in 1748, to the great mortification of the col- 
onists. 

The French, upon being discoverers of the Mississippi River, based 
a claim to the country watered by it and its tributaries ; and, during 
the last peace, they made great efforts to connect Louisburg and 
New Orleans by a line of military posts, up the St. Lawrence to Lake 
Ontario, thence to the Ohio River, down it, and the Mississippi. 

Some persons belonging to England and Virginia, known as the 
Ohio Company, holding a tract of land, obtained by grant from the 
king, of six hundred thousand acres, for the purpose of settlement 
and fur trading with the Indians, were molested, and some of them 
carried prisoners to Canada. The company made complaint of the 
French aggressions to the Virginia authorities, and Governor Rob- 
ert Dimciddie laid the case before the council of the colony, and 
they determined to demand, in the name of the king, that the French 
should desist from such intrusions upon their rights. Accordingly, 
George Washington, then twenty-one past, was sent to make this 
demand of M. de St. Pierre, the French commandant on the Ohio, 
who replied, that he had acted according to orders. First comes 
firm remonstrance, then brave resistance. 

The British government next had the matter under consideration, 
and directed the Americans not to make dema?ids, but to resist the 
French by force of arms. Troops were raised throughout the colo- 
nies ; land and naval forces were sent from England against Nova 
Scotia, Crown Point, and Niagara. Another expedition was sent 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 491 

against Fort du Quesne, commanded by General Praddoch, who had 
two regiments of English soldiers, and a body of colonial troops 
under Colonel Washington, in all about twelve hundred men. 

Unaccustomed to ambush warfare, Braddock exposed his soldiers 
to be cut off uselessly, by insisting upon their fighting in platoons. 
A suggestion from Washington, to allow the soldiers to cover them- 
selves by the trees, and play back upon the enemy, in their own way, 
was treated by him with contempt ; saying, to the effect, that a Brit- 
ish general had not come to America to learn military tactics of a 
Virginia colonel. But Braddock soon found that British generals 
were not too good to be shot. He was killed, and Washington took 
the command, but the defeat was such that a retreat was necessary. 
Washington had two horses killed under him, and four balls pene- 
trated his coat. 

The expedition against Crown Point failed, with the exception of 
a battle on the banks of Lake George, between General Johnson and 
the French, under Dieskau, the latter being defeated, mortally 
wounded, and eight hundred men killed. The one against Niagara 
was delayed and abandoned. 

This informal warfare, which had now been carried on for two 
years, was declared in 1756. During this and the next year, no 
laurels were won by either party. Marquis de Montcalm succeeded 
Dieskau in command of the French, and the Earl of Loudon, and 
afterwards General Abercrombie, had the command of the British 
troops. 

A change occurring in the British ministry, placed 'William Pitt 
at the head of the administration, when affairs assumed a vigorous 
turn. Being popular in America, Pitt had the fortune to arouse the 
spirits of the American generals to energetic action, by promises of 
efficient aid from England being sent them. Three expeditions were 
next proposed. The first was against Louisburg, with a land force 
of fourteen thousand men, commanded by General Amherst, and 
General Wolfe second in command, and a naval armament, under 
Admired Boscawen. The place was again taken from the French. 
The second was against Ticonderoga, under Abercrombie, but was a 
failure ; he was repulsed, with a loss of two thousand men. The 
third expedition was against Fort du Quesne, under General Forbes, 
who took the place, and changed its name to Pitts-burg, in honor 
o£Pitt. 

Another campaign was proposed in 1759, having for its object the 
entire conquest of Canada. The British army was divided into three 
parts, and destined to three points, — General Amherst to Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point, which he found evacuated ; Prideaux was 



492 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

sent against Niagara, which the English took, but Prideaux fell 
three days before the conquest ; Wolfe was sent against Quebec. 
Landing on the island of Orleans, below the city, he made some inef- 
fectual attempts to take it. He resolved, finally, to attempt the mar- 
shalling of his troops for battle on the Plains of Abraham, behind the 
city, where it was the least defensible. This bold design he effected 
in the night, by scaling the steep banks, and, before Montcalm was 
aware of it, Wolfe, with his whole army of eight thousand men, was 
in battle array. Montcalm, with ten thousand men, was confident 
of success, and so hazarded a battle outside the walls of the city. 
A hot battle ensued, in which the French were entirely defeated, 
losing fifteen hundred men and their four principal commanders ; the 
English losing five hundred men and their two first officers. 'Wolfe 
and Montcalm were both mortally wounded. With this victory fol- 
lowed the cession of all the French possessions in America, in the 
Peace of Paris, 1763. This gave the colonies rest from the annoy- 
ing wars with the French and Indians. 

Revolutionary War. — The prospect of peace and thrift were 
never brighter for any people than for the American colonists at the 
close of the " French War." They had but to hold and enjoy what 
their valor and industry had acquired. With no contending nations 
near to molest, well might they look for a "good time coming." 

But, alas ! never was there a people, no, never ! more terribly dis- 
appointed than they were. For, after fleeing hither, that they might 
enjoy freedom of worship, they found, as their religion taught them, 
that " a man's foes are they of his own house." 

The wars waged by England in behalf of the colonies, had greatly 
augmented the national debt ; and, upon this consideration, was 
based that bitter project of taxing the Colonies to indemnify the 
mother country. The colonists replied, that Great Britain had a 
large personal interest in the war ; she had the monopoly of the 
commerce of the colonies ; that the achievements of the wars were 
of mutual advantage ; and that the colonies had made greater exer- 
tions, according to their ability, to secure the present advantages 
than had England. They claimed, above all, their rights as English 
subjects: one of which was, that no subject could be deprived of his 
property without his own consent, expressed in person, or by his 
representatives. 

The British Parliament maintained the right to tax the colonies ; 
the latter denied that right. Mr. Grenville, the prime minister, pro- 
posed to Parliament, in 17G4, a resolution, — "That it would be 
proper to impose certain stamp duties on the colonies." Early in the 
next year, the Stamp Act was passed, laying a tax on all paper used 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 493 

for writing deeds, notes, etc., and all contracts on unstamped mate- 
rials to be null and void. 

The Virginia Assembly being in session at the time the news of 
the passage of this Act arrived, took position against it immediately, 
in a number of spirited resolutions brought forward by Patrick 
Henry. At the same time, Massachusetts, before what was done in 
Virginia was known, had adopted measures to procure a combined 
opposition against the offensive measures. When the news of the 
Stamp Act arrived in Boston, bells were muffled, and rang a funeral 
peal. The crown officers were insulted, and various demonstrations 
of resistance were made. The Act was hawked about the streets of 
New York, with a Death's head affixed to it, and styled, " The Folly 
of England, and the Ruin of America." The merchants resolved to 
import no more goods from England, until the Act was repealed. 
The colonies had not forgotten the advice England gave the " Ohio 
Company," when St. Pierre oppressed them, which was, " to resist 
the French by force of arms." 

A Colonial Congress (similar to the United Colonies of New 
England, in 1643, to resist the Indians), appointed by nine of the 
colonies, assembled at New York (now to resist England), in 1765, 
and published a declaration of rights and grievances, insisting partic- 
ularly upon the exclusive right of taxing themselves, and complaining 
loudly of the Stamp Act. Indeed, so determined was the opposition 
to it by all classes, that it was never enforced. 

By a change made in the British cabinet, Pitt and others procured 
the repeal of the Stamp Act, in March 1766. But the repeal was 
prefaced by a clause, declaring that Parliament " had, and of 'right 
ought to have, power to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever ! " 
Thus the sentiments of the Colonial Congress and the British Par- 
liament were in direct antagonism to each other. Who shall yield ? 

The favorite project of taxing the colonies was persisted in by the 
British ministry, notwithstanding the opposition of the colonies, and 
the loud warnings of Pitt and others. In June 1767, an act was 
passed by Parliament, imposing a duty on tea, paper, glass, and paint- 
ers'' colors ; and, in order to carry it into effect, a Custom House was 
established in Boston, and a Board of Commissioners appointed for 
the colonies, and in 1768 two regiments of soldiers arrived in town 
to enforce the measure, and all who resisted in Massachusetts were 
to be sent to England for trial. 

At these insolent measures of intimidation, the people were in the 
highest degree indignant. And soon quarrels began to occur between 
the soldiers and the populace, until, on the fifth' of March, 1770, a 
collision took place before the Custom House, when the sentinel sta- 



49-i HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

tioned there was insulted and threatened. Captain Preston hastened 
to the spot with soldiers to support the sentinel. He endeavored to 
persuade the people to disperse, but the excitement increased, until 
a soldier, who had been struck, fired on the multitude, his comrades . 
following suit. Four persons were killed and several wounded. A 
trial ensued, when Captain Preston and his men were all cleared 
except two — who were found guilty of manslaughter — by a Boston 
jury. Samuel Adams was counsel. 

At this juncture, or in 1770, news arrived that, through the influ- 
ence of Lord North, all duties were repealed, except threepence per 
pound on tea. By this measure the British ministry intended to 
establish the right to tax the colonies. That was the point at issue. 
Neither party were tenacious about the mode or extent of taxation, 
but both were pertinaciously in earnest to press the question of right 
to tax. 

The East India Company, getting into want for funds, applied to 
Parliament for relief, complaining that their embarrassments were 
owing to the disturbances in America, by which their teas had accu- 
mulated in their warehouses to the amount of seventeen millions of 
pounds, for the want of a market. Upon this showing, the ministry 
were left to choose between the alternatives of pleasing the company 
and provoking the colonies, by relieving the East Indies and oppress- 
ing the West Indies, or do the other way. 

In November 1773, news arrived that three ships were on their 
way to Boston, loaded with East India tea, to be sold at threepence 
a pound, tax, in Boston. Other ships were sent with tea to New 
York and Philadelphia. The merchants knew that if the cargoes 
were landed, the sale of the tea would be inevitable; hence they 
resolved to prevent if possible the ships being unloaded. Those 
bound to New York and Philadelphia were sent back to England ; 
but those sent to Boston were detained in the harbor, though the 
captains of those ships would have gladly returned also. 

A meeting of the citizens of Boston voted to refuse permission to 
discharge the tea. Here was a tight case. The governor would not 
permit a clearance from the Custom House to be granted for them 
to depart, and, further, the guns at Castle William would not permit 
their passing out of the harbor. What then ? The tea must surely 
go to (the tea-) pot, if the people would not let it land, and the gov- 
ernor would not let it depart ! The adjourned town-meeting met 
December sixteenth, considered the case, and dissolved. In the 
evening, however, a company of MohawJc Indians (?) boarded the 
ships, and, in two hours, emptied into the harbor tea amounting in 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 495 

value to ninety thousand dollars ! So the governor had his way, and 
the people theirs. 

In 1774, the British Parliament chose to retaliate, rather than 
conciliate, and so passed the " Boston Port Bill," forbidding all 
ships landing at Boston, except those in His Majesty's service, until 
the king was satisfied that good order and obedience to the laws 
were restored, and the East India Company indemnified. 

In May, General Gage arrived in Boston, as commander-in-chief 
of the British forces in North America. Shortly after, two regi- 
ments landed, with artillery and military stores. These movements 
indicated to the colonists that they had either got to fight or submit. 

The last fatal measure adopted by the British ministry, among 
other things, was annulling the charter of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony. The people declared that if they had violated the charter, 
measures of redress should be taken against them. But if the 
charter, which was the only bond of union between them and the 
king, was dissolved, they were set free from their allegiance, and 
from that moment the king could no longer reign over them, unless 
conquered by his armies. The colonists now saw clearly that they 
must assume and maintain their independence by force of arms, or 
make an unconditional surrender of their liberties to the tyrants of 
their father-land. 

Upon this, a Committee of Correspondence was formed by dis- 
tinguished men in Massachusetts, who entered into an agreement, 
called the " Solemn League and Covenant? the purport of which 
was, to suspend all intercourse with Great Britain, until their rights 
should be respected. The General Court of Massachusetts resolved 
that a Congress of the Colonies was demanded ; they also enrolled 
a body of men, to be prepared to march at any minute, and so 
called "minute-men;" appointed five general-officers to command 
them ; formed a committee of safety ; and set about collecting 
military stores at Concord and Worcester. 

The plan for assembling a Congress was speedily adopted by all 
the Colonies, except Georgia ; and, on the fifth of September, 1774, 
the delegates met at Philadelphia. This was no " Mump" parlia- 
ment, but known as the Continental Congress. They chose Peyton 
Randolph, President, and Charles Thomson, Secretary. It was 
composed of fifty-five members, with heart and ability to do what 
was required of them. Addresses were sent to the king, to the peo- 
ple of Great Britain, and to the Colonies, setting forth their griev- 
ances, desires for reconciliation, and, if need be, the ultimate mode 
of redress. These able state-papers were highly applauded in the 
British Parliament by Pitt (Lord Chatham), Burke, and others, who 



496 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

sympathized with the Colonies. The almost infinite disparity be- 
tween England and the Colonies in ability to wage war, made their 
cause one of the utmost contempt in the estimation of a domineer- 
ing ministry, and they confidently expected the " Boston Kebel- 
lion " would be easily and speedily crushed. 

When the proceedings of the Continental Congress were laid 
before the British Parliament, in 1775, a joint address of both 
Houses was presented to the king, declaring that a rebellion actu- 
ally existed in Massachusetts, and beseeching his majesty to suppress 
it. The army in Boston was increased to ten thousand, which was 
deemed sufficient to reduce the rebellious Colonies to submission. 

The last parliamentary salve that was used, was a conciliatory 
proposition, by Lord North, which was to the effect, that whenever 
the Colonies would contribute their proportion for the common de- 
fence, and for the support of their own civil government, England 
would refrain from taxing them. But this very "refraining" indi- 
cated the right to tax, which was the very point in dispute, and 
hence only irritated the sore, instead of healing it. 

Affairs had now come into so excited a condition that bloodshed 
was the next event looked for. This expectation was realized in 
the execution of the order of General Gage, who sent troops, under 
Colonel Smith and 3Iajor JPitcaim, to seize some military stores at 
Concord. The march, though in the night, was discovered, and 
early in the morning of April 19, 1775, as they passed through Lex- 
ington, about seventy " minute-men " of that town were found on 
the Common, under arms. 

Pitcairn rode up to them, and cried out, " Disperse, you rebels ! 
throw down your arms and disperse ! " The insulted and indignant 
freemen being slow to obey the little minion of despotism, he dis- 
charged his pistol, flourished his sword, and ordered his troops to 
fire. They obeyed him, and eight Americans were hilled, and sev- 
ered icounded. This was the first oblation on the altar of Freedom. 

Proceeding to Concord, a few military stores were there destroyed, 
and another encounter was had between the troops and the militia 
of the town, under Mr. John Butterworth. During the retreat of the 
troops, the " minute-men " harassed them nearly every minute until 
they reached Boston. Of the troops sixty-five were killed, and one 
hundred and eighty wounded. Of the Americans fifty were killed, 
and thirty-four wounded. 

The ball was now in motion, and war was inevitable. A large 
body of American soldiers was collected near Boston ; an additional 
number soon arrived from Connecticut, under General Putnam. 

(Besides the story of Putnam and the Wolf, there is another told 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 497 

of him and a British officer. The latter being on a visit to the 
American camp, conversation turned upon bravery. Putnam pro- 
posed a test of this quality with the Britisher. Two powder-kegs 
were brought, and each was to sit upon one, and a slow match to be 
applied, and the one who should hold out the longer should be the 
bravo. As the fatal fire drew near, the officer said : "Putnam, this 
is murder in cold blood ! " Putnam replied : " Oh, no ; the kegs are 
only filled with onion-seed!") 

An expedition was sent to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in 
order to close against the British, as early as possible, that inlet to 
the Colonies, by Quebec. This was done in that memorable sur-' 
render of Ticonderoga to the intrepid Ethan Allen. Taking the 
commandant by surprise, while in his bed, early on the morning of 
the tenth of May, demanded of him the surrender of the fort. "In 
whose name?" said he. "In the name of the Great Jehovah and 
the Continental Congress !" said Allen. 

The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts had before this des- 
patched an account of the affair at Lexington to England, with 
depositions showing that the soldiers were the first aggressors, de- 
clared their loyalty to the Crown, but protested against the tyranny 
of the British ministry ; and, after " appealing to Heaven for the 
justice of their cause, rather than submit, we will die, or be free ! " 

On the tenth of May (the day Ticonderoga was taken) the Con- 
tinental Congress met, for the first time, in Philadelphia. Randolph 
being absent, John Hancock was placed in the chair. The Colonies 
had responded very promptly in sending in delegates to make up 
this body. At this time they assumed the title of " United Colo- 
niesr The Congress also recommended a day of humiliation, to 
implore the blessing of Heaven on their sovereign, the King of 
Great Britain, and the interposition of Divine aid to remove their 
grievances and restore harmony between the parent State and the 
Colonies, on constitutional terms. At the same time recommended 
to the Colonies to collect saltpetre and sulphur, and manufacture 
powder, and raise troops, for the colonial service. (Similar to Crom- 
well's advice to his soldiers. Said he : ' ■ Men, trust in God, and 
keep your powder dry ! ") 

Towards the end of May, reinforcements of British troops arrived 
in Boston, also Generals Howe, Bnrgoyne, and Clinton, and martial 
law w T as proclaimed. A show of clemency was made, however, by 
Genercd Gage, in an offer of pardon, in the king's name, to all who 
would return to their allegiance, except John Hancock and Samuel 
Adams — the former, President of the Congress then in session. 

On the fifteenth of June, the Congress, having resolved on meas- 

63 



498 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ures of defence, proceeded to organize a Continental army. A point 
of immense importance now arose : that of selecting a suitable com- 
mander-in-chief. Fortunately they were unanimous in the choice of 
a man distinguished for his perseverance, prudence, bravery, good 
judgment, elevation of character, and purity of motives ; who proved 
himself to be truly the " Fabius, or sword and shield," of American 
liberty. Such an one was General George Washington. 

The activity of the friends of liberty in the vicinity of Boston 
was such, that they determined to annoy, and if possible dislodge 
the British from that place. Accordingly, a detachment of one 
thousand men, under command of Colonel Prescott, was ordered, 
on the sixteenth of June, to throw up a breastwork on Bunker 
Hill, in Charlestown. So expeditiously did they carry out the 
order, that by daylight next morning the redoubt was nearly com- 
pleted. In the morning they were reinforced by five hundred men. 

About four in the morning of the seventeenth of June, the Amer- 
ican works were discovered by the captain of the Lively, sloop-of- 
war, lying in Charles River, who instantly began a heavy cannonade 
upon them, and was soon joined by the other ships, the Falcon^ 
Somerset, and Glasgoio, and by a battery on Copp's Hill, in Boston. 
Under a shower of balls and bombs, the Americans continued their 
work, and lost only one man during the morning. But, about noon, 
a detachment of troops from Boston, under Generals Howe and 
Pigot, was landed near the point of the peninsula. But, seeing the 
strength of the American position, reinforcements were sent for. 
By this time the steeples, roofs of houses, hills, etc., were covered 
with excited spectators, awaiting the action. 

At the signal, General Howe advanced, at the head of three thou- 
sand men, to attack the American works. The latter had orders to 
reserve their fire until they could see the white of the eyes of the 
enemy, when they poured such a tremendous volley of bullets into 
the breasts of the British, as to make them recoil under it, and fall 
into disorder. A rally was made, and a second repulse followed. 
But, at this critical moment, General Clinton (who, with other offi- 
cers, stood on Copp's Hill, viewing the scene) arrived, and suc- 
ceeded in rallying the British to a third attack. At this time they 
entered the American lines with fixed bayonets. The colonists, 
having used up their ammunition, and having only common fire- 
arms, were unable to resist a greater number of well-armed soldiery, 
and were compelled to retreat. 

The British lost one thousand and fifty-four men, — eight hundred 
and twenty-eight wounded, two hundred and twenty-six killed, — 
anion? whom was Pitcairn. The Americans lost four hundred and 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 499 

fifty-three, — thirty-six missing, two hundred and seventy-eight 
wounded, one hundred and thirty-nine killed ; among the latter, 
General Warren, who hastened to the field as a volunteer. Being 
seen by a British officer — and a personal acquaintance too — to 
rally his men in the retreat, the officer snatched a musket, took 
deliberate aim, fired, and Warren fell, greatly lamented by his coun- 
trymen. Thus ended the celebrated Battle of Bunker Hill, June 
17, 1775. 

On the second of July, General Washington arrived in Charles- 
town, the head-quarters of the Colonial army. 

In pursuance of a plan for guarding the frontiers, an expedition 
was sent against Canada, to wrest it from the British Crown. Mont- 
gomery, having taken Forts Chamblee and St. John's, advanced to 
Montreal, which surrendered without resistance. He then directed 
his march for Quebec, where he was joined by General Arnold, with 
a detachment of one thousand men, who, with incredible suffering, 
had come through the wilderness from Cambridge, by way of the 
Kennebec River. They made a desperate effort to carry the city by 
assault, but were repulsed, with a loss of four hundred killed, among 
whom was the gallant Montgomery. In the spring, Canada was 
evacuated. 

During the year 1775, the royal Governors of Virginia, North 
and South Carolina, so demeaned themselves that they were obliged 
to yield to the people, and vacate their offices. Thus royalty began 
to bow. In October, General Gage left for England, when the 
chief command of the British forces devolved upon Sir William 
Howe. 

Washington's determination now was, to drive the British from 
Boston. Already there were fifteen thousand men, belonging to the 
American army, investing the city, and his plan was, a direct attack 
upon Boston ; but a Council of War advised occupying Dorchester 
Heights. This concluded upon, a brisk cannonade was commenced 
upon the city, in order to divert attention from the work on the 
heights. At the same time, a detachment was sent to throw up a 
fortification. So incessantly did they labor, that in the morning 
they had cast up two forts, and other defences, making a formidable 
show, and drawing from Howe the remark, " that the Americans 
had done more in one night, than his whole army would have done 
in a month." He determined to make an attack upon them, but a 
severe storm and heavy rain prevented him. 

General Howe, feeling conscious that the position on the heights 
was too strong to be carried, saw no alternative for him but to evac- 
uate the town. Accordingly, on the morning of Sunday, the 17th of 



500 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

March, 1776, the troops, seven thousand in number, and some hun- 
dreds of loyal inhabitants, began to embark. As the last of the 
British were leaving Boston, Washington marched into it, — its 
deliverer from the oppressions of a British soldiery, — amidst the 
acclamations of the people. 

The news of the battle of Bunker Hill excited astonishment in 
England ; but neither this nor the swaying eloquence of Pitt^ 
Burke, and Fox, could turn the wanton purpose of the ministry to 
prosecute the war. Soon an act of Parliament was passed, author- 
izing the employment of sixteen thousand mercenaries, the troops 
of the Landgrave of Hesse, Duke of Brunswick. Trade with the 
Colonies was suspended, and their ships forfeited to those who should 
take them. 

The contest with the Colonies began about constitutional rights, 
not for separation; but as a steady course of oppression had been 
pursued up to the present time, a final rupture was seriously enter- 
tained. At this juncture, the writings of Thomas Paine, published 
under the signature of Common Sense, setting forth the necessity 
of separation from England, did much in preparing the public mind 
for such a serious step. 

On the seventh of June, 1776, a motion was made in Congress, 
by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, for declaring the Colonies free 
and independent. A committee was accordingly appointed to pre- 
pare a Declaration of Independence, consisting of Jefferson, Adams, 
Franklin, Sherman, and Livingston, and, after a full discussion, the 
question was carried by a vote nearly unanimous, on the memorable 
fourth of July, 1776. 

After stating their grievances, this memorable and almost une- 
qualled instrument, the Declaration, concludes thus : " We, there- 
fore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in Gen- 
eral Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the 
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by 
the authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish 
and declare, that these united Colonies are, and of right ought to 
be, Free and Jndependent States ; that they are absolved from all 
allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection 
between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
totally dissolved ; and that as free and independent states, they 
have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, estab- 
lish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independ- 
ent states ought to do. 

" And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 501 

the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each 
other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." 

Each of the members of Congress signed this great charter of 
American Liberty. Thomas Jefferson is its reputed author. 

From this time the state of aifairs wore a different aspect. No 
more petitions to the Crown ; no more avowal of loyalty ; no more 
laying down of arms on condition of redresses being granted, and 
no more complaints against a tyrannical ministry ; but the assump- 
tion of national dignity, national rights, and the treatment of Great 
Britain as a mighty, insolent, and despotic foe ; and all her armies, 
fleets, and minions just objects of defeat, capture, and imprisonment, 
until she will pledge herself, in good faith, to sign and maintain an 
honorable peace. 

Washington anticipated the purpose of the British in leaving 
Boston, which was to take possession of New York, and towards 
that place he directed his movements. Howe, after having lain at 
Halifax a while to recruit his army, arrived off Sandy Hook, and 
was soon after joined by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, with a 
large naval force. The British force now amounted to thirty thous- 
and, and Washington's to only seventeen thousand. 

Having authority to make peace, Lord Howe addressed a letter 
on the subject to George Washington, Esq. Taking this as a per- 
sonal insult, as well as to the Congress that bestowed his title as 
General, and indeed to the whole cause of the Colonies, Washington 
returned the letter without opening it. Soon after, another came, 
addressed George Washington, etc., etc. This he refused, until his 
proper rank should be acknowledged. Howe had to bow, as his 
brother had to leave Boston. 

On the twenty-seventh of August a battle ensued, between Brook- 
lyn and Flatbush. The Americans, under Putnam, being poorly 
armed and disciplined, and opposed by a superior number of equip- 
ped and trained soldiery, were defeated. Loss, two thousand. 

On October twenty-eighth another engagement took place, on 
White Plains, in which Washington commanded, and was defeated 
by Howe, leaving New York, Long Island, and Staten Island in the 
power of the British. Washington then made his splendid retreat 
across the Hudson, though New Jersey, by Newark, New Brunswick, 
Princeton, and Trenton, thence across the Delaware into Pennsyl- 
vania, being pursued so closely by the British, under Lord Corn- 
wallis, that the Americans had i»ut just got across when the British 
arrived on the opposite shore. 

This was a dark hour to the cause of liberty ; and, at this time, 
Howe proclaimed a pardon to all who would return to their allegi- 



502 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

ancc. Many complied, which made the case still worse. The future 
was dark and unpromising, though Washington remained firm. 

On the twelfth of December, 1776, Congress removed from Phil- 
adelphia to Baltimore; but in every hour, dark and light, they 
remained firm, and supported Washington to the utmost of their 
power. About this time, commissioners were sent to France to 
seek sympathy in the struggle for independence. 

Washington, aware of the importance of making some decided 
measure tell upon the cause, so as to give it a name abroad, and 
raise the drooping spirits of the people, planned an attack upon the 
British forces. Finding that they were widely scattered about for 
winter quarters, " Xow," said he, " is the time to clip their wings, 
while they are spread so wide." So, on the night of the twenty- 
fifth of December, 1776, he conducted a portion of his army across 
the Delaware, about nine miles from Trenton, fell upon the Hessians 
quartered there, and forced one thousand of them to surrender. 
Bahl, their commander, was slain ; besides, a large quantity of 
arms and ammunition was secured. 

This victory astonished the British, elated the colonists, gave their 
cause popularity in Europe, and was the entering- w^edge of the war. 
It is said that Rahl, the Hessian commander, had a letter sent him, 
informing him of the plan of Washington ; but, being engaged at 
the time in a game of cards, neglected to open the letter, and thereby 
lost his life, and left open the gap through which American Liberty 
escaped the clutches of Tyranny. (In the same negligent way 
Achias lost Thebes, and Julius Caesar his life and the Roman 
Empire.) 

At this very period of darkness, Congress took an important step 
in advance, by forming " Articles of Confederation" between the 
states. Also, by increasing the power of Washington, giving him 
supreme command; by raising an army, and enlisting them for 
three years, and during the war, with prospective grants of land, 
etc., and by arousing the energies of the people, and seeking foreign 
aid. 

General Howe's next attempt was to get possession of Philadel- 
phia, which he succeeded in doing after repulsing the Americans, 
under Washington, at Brandywine, where they gave a brave resist- 
ance, September eleventh. Before superior numbers, discipline, and 
equipments they yielded, with a loss of one thousand in all. Among 
the wounded was Marquis de Lafayette. 

In the spring of 1777, an army of invasion was sent up the St. 
Lawrence from England, under General Bitrgoyne. In June he 
arrived in Lake Champlain, with a force of nine thousand men. 






HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 503 

Ticonderoga was abandoned. He then went to Skeensborough 
(Whitehall), and destroyed some American flotilla and stores, and 
thence marched to Fort Edward, on the Hudson. From thence he 
sent a detachment, under Baum, to destroy a collection of stores 
at Bennington, Vermont. On August sixteenth, General Stark, 
with eight hundred Vermont and New Hampshire militia, killed and 
took most of them prisoners. The next day a reinforcement arrived, 
of five hundred, under Colonel Breyman, which met the same fate, 

(During these operations occurred the tragedy of Miss Jane 
McCrea.) 

Burgoyne then removed his forces and stores to Saratoga. Gen- 
eral Gates, who had recently taken the command of the American 
army in the northern department, advanced towards Saratoga. On 
September nineteenth, an obstinate but indecisive battle was fought 
at Stillwater. Soon after, another battle was fought, of a more 
decisive character. Burgoyne became entangled, with the Hudson 
on one side, a deep wood on the other, and the Americans before 
and behind him. Finding himself hemmed in, he called a Council 
of War, which advised to capitulate ; when Burgoyne, with five 
thousand seven hundred and fifty-two men, besides the sick and 
wounded, surrendered themselves as prisoners of war to General 
Gates, October 17, 1777. This victory was a cause of great joy to 
the Americans, and decided France in forming an alliance with 
them, through the negotiations of Dr. Franklin, Silas Dean, and 
Arthur Lee, sent out for that purpose. 

In the opening of the campaign of 1778, General Howe returned 
to England, and the chief command of the British forces devolved 
n i^on Sir Henry Clinton. 

The French fleet, of twelve ships, under Count d' Estang, arrived 
in July, but nothing decisive was accomplished. 

In 1779, Tryon plundered New Haven, and burnt Fairfield and 
JSTorwalk. Stony Point was also taken, in July of the same year, by 
General Wayne. General Prevost also undertook the capture of 
Charleston, but failed. The Americans, assisted by Count d' Estang, 
were repulsed in an attack upon Savannah, which was defended 
by Prevost ; at which battle Count Pulaski, a Polish officer in the 
American service, was killed. 

In 1780, Clinton attacked and took Charleston. Leaving about 
four thousand troops for the southern service, under Lord Cornioal- 
lis, he returned to New York. 

General Gates was appointed to command the American army 
South. An engagement took place between him and Cornwallis, 
at Camden, August sixteenth, in which Gates was defeated ; and in 



504 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

it Baron de Kalb, a Prussian officer in the American service, and 
second in command, fell. 

As the result of a visit of Lafayette to France, a French fleet 
arrived in July, with six thousand troops, under command of Count 
de Bochambeau, for the American service. At this time a great 
depression in the means and hopes of the Continentals prevailed; 
but this arrival revived and strengthened them. 

The tragedy of the Revolution was the attempt of General Bene- 
dict Arnold to betray the fortress of West Point, on the Hudson, 
into the hands of the British, assisted by Major Andre, the agent 
of the enemy. Arnold had already distinguished himself at Quebec 
and Saratoga, being wounded at both places. But in the perform- 
ance of some of his duties at Philadelphia, he was so oppressive as 
to require a court-martial to investigate the matter. The decision 
of the court was, that he should be reprimanded. Exasperated at 
this, he vowed revenge. But Washington, not suspecting his in- 
tentions, entrusted him with the important command of West Point. 
Arnold soon after entered into a negotiation with General Clinton 
for the surrender of the post. 

Arnold requested Clinton to send him a confidential agent, with 
whom a final arrangement could be made. The otherwise highly 
esteemed Major Andre was intrusted with this secret and dangerous 
undertaking. 

The Vulture sloop-of-war had been placed at a respectful distance 
from West Point, by Sir Henry Clinton, soon after Arnold's appoint- 
ment to the command. To this sloop-of-war Arnold sent a boat on 
the night of the twenty-first of September, 1780, which brought 
Andre back, when he was met on the bank of the river by Arnold. 

Their interview lasted until break of day, when it was deemed 
prudent that Andre should remain concealed over the day, and 
return in the following night. Next night the boatmen refused to 
carry him back, because the Vulture had moved off a little, in order 
to get out of the reach of a cannon that had been mounted to annoy 
her. 

Poor Andre had now to seek escape by land. Shifting his uni- 
form, and taking a passport from Arnold to go to White Plains, on 
public business, he passed the American lines without difficulty, and 
confidently hoped all danger was passed. But, in a moment when 
he thought not of it, three men suddenly sprang from a covert, 
and one of them seized his horse by the bridle. Losing his presence 
of mind just long enough to betray himself, he asked permission to 
pass as a British officer, supposing them to be scouts of the British 
army. But, as it proved, it was a party Arnold himself had sent 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE 505 

out to scour the country between the outposts of the two armies. 
Discovering his mistake, he then offered them a large purse of gold 
for his release. This the men refused, since his anxiety, from con- 
flicting reasons, was so great to get at liberty again. 

He was now taken before Colonel Jamieson, the commander of 
the scout, and made himself known as John Anderson. Though 
short-sighted for himself, Andre had the presence of mind to request 
permission to notify Arnold of his capture, thereby putting him on 
his guard for his own safety. After the message had gone suffi- 
ciently long not to be overtaken, Andre avowed his true name. 
Thus, Arnold's own scout prevented the loss of the fort, but ruined 
him. 

Andre was tried by a board of officers, who, from the fact that he 
had been within their lines in disguise, declared him to be a spy, and 
ought to suffer death. The next day, October 2d, the sentence was 
executed, to the grief of both the American and British armies. 
Arnold had previously fled for safety to the sloop Vulture. He was 
after appointed brigadier-general in the British army. 

In the autumn of 1780, General Green was appointed to the com- 
mand of the army in the South, instead of General Gates. 

In January 1781, Arnold, with about fifteen hundred men, com- 
mitted wanton depredations in Virginia. 

A battle between Greene and Cormcallis, at Guilford Court 
House, was fought on the 15th of March; — indecisive, except the 
British held the field. Greene then marched to Camden, against 
Lord Rawdon. He sallied out upon Greene, and, though a loss 
about equal on both sides, the British had the advantage. In Sep- 
tember, General Greene gained a decisive victory at Eutaw Springs, 
over Colonel Stuart, the British losing about one thousand, the 
Americans five hundred and fifty. This was about the last of the 
war in South Carolina. 

After the battle at Guilford, Lord Cornioallis proceeded to Vir- 
ginia, to join the British army under General Philips ; and, arriving 
at Petersburg, in May, he took the command of the united forces. 
After some unimportant manoeuvres, he encamped with his army 
on York River, near Yorktoicn and Gloucester Point. Here he for- 
tified himself, as he thought wisely, little knowing what awaited 
him. 

Washington, Knox, B.ochamoeau, and other officers, had planned 
for combined operations against the British before this ; but now, 
seeing Cornwallis' position at Yorktown, they thought it was time 
to make the effort. Word was designedly given out to the effect, 
that New York was to be the point of attack, for the purpose of 

64 



506 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

directing the attention of the Middle and Eastern states away from 
him, and so deceive Sir Henry Clinton as to prevent his sending 
timely aid to Cornwallis. Washington wrote letters to General 
Greene and others, and contrived to have them intercepted by the 
British, which had the desired effect. 

Washington, having gotten all attention directed to New York, 
suddenly quitted White Plains, crossed the Hudson, and, with his 
army, pushed on rapidly through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
and arrived at Elk River, the head-quarters of a considerable army 
under Lafayette. From here a part of the army embarked and 
sailed for Virginia, and a part marched by land. 

Clinton, not hearing of Washington's movements until too late to 
pursue him, vented his rage upon New London, Connecticut, by 
sending Arnold, the traitor, to burn it, and massacre the garrison 
at Fort Grisicold, nearly opposite. 

At Chester, Washington heard the cheering news of the arrival 
of twenty-four French ships of the line, under Count de Grasse, in 
the Chesapeake. A body of French troops was landed, to cooperate 
w r ith the Americans. Now Washington's darling object was about 
to be realized. He had in all a force of about sixteen thousand 
men, and so disposed as to make it impossible for the British to 
escape, either by sea or land. 

Early in October the siege commenced. The advance was rapid 
and tremendous, the British works giving way continually, until, on 
the 17th, Lord Cornwallis proposed a cessation of hostilities. On 
the 19th October, 1781, Articles of Capitulation were signed, by 
w T hich the whole British army, military stores, and shipping, fell 
into the hands of General Washington. The army of Cornwallis 
marched out, wdth their colors cased, and laid dowm their arms in a 
field between the positions of the two armies. Whole number, 
seven thousand and seventy-three. This great victory decided the 
war in favor of American Independence. A day of public thanks- 
giving was recommended by Congress, and was observed through- 
out the United States. Washington liberated all persons under 
arrest, that they might partake in the general joy. 

A change in the British Cabinet took place upon the surrender of 
Cornwallis. General Carlton succeeded General Clinton in com- 
mand in America. 

November 30, 1782, provisional Articles of Peace were signed, 

— upon the new ministry advising the king to discontinue the war, 

— by which the independence and sovereignty of the United States 
were acknowledged. 

On the 19th of April, 1783, — eight years, to a day, after the 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 507 

battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775), — the cessation of hostilities 
with Great Britain was, by order of General Washington, proclaimed 
in the American camp. 

On the 3d of September, 1783, there was concluded at Versailles, 
France, by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Laurens, on the part of the 
Americans, and Oswald on the part of the British, a definitive treaty 
of peace, by which the thirteen United Colonies were admitted to 
be " Free, Sovereign, and Independent States." "Disperse, you 
rebels ! " had become obsolete in eight years ! 

Upon review of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Pitt (the younger) 
said: . ..." a war which was conceived in injustice, nurtured in 
folly, and whose footsteps were marked with slaughter and devasta- 
tion. The nation was drained of its best blood and its vital re- 
sources, for which nothing was received in return but a series of 
inefficient victories and disgraceful defeats ; victories obtained 
over men fighting in the holy cause of liberty, or defeats which filled 
the land with mourning, for the loss of dear and valuable relations 
slain in a detested and impious quarrel." 



PERIOD III. EROM THE INDEPENDENCE, 5787 A. M., AND 1783 A. C, TO THE 
PRESENT TIME, 5864 A. ¥ , AND 1860 A. C. 

ARMY DISBANDED. 

Freemen, after gaining their liberty, had no more use for an army, 
and hence its dissolution. But, being short of means, Congress was 
obliged to pay off the soldiers of the Revolution in paper-money, 
on the credit of the country. At the close of the war, this money 
had lost much of its value, and hence great dissatisfaction arose in 
the army, — that, after fighting the battles of the nation, they were 
to be cheated out of their pay, of which they and their families 
were in great want. Besides, some mischief-makers and busy-bodies 
took pains, by circulating written addresses, and other means, to 
excite the jealousies of the soldiers, and to induce them to use 
violence in order to obtain their rights. 

At this juncture Washington's virtues and influence were of as 
great service to his country as at any time before. He assembled 
the officers, and exhorted them to moderation ; pledged himself to 
do all he could for them, and then conjured them, " as they valued 
their honor, as they respected the rights of humanity, and as they 



508 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

regarded the military and national character of the American States, 
to express their utmost detestation of the men who were attempting 
to open the flood-gates of civil discord, to deluge their rising empire 
with blood." After his speech, the officers voted him an address of 
thanks, and avowed their confidence in the justice of Congress and 
their country. The accounts of the army were adjusted, and put 
in a train of settlement. 

The 3d of November was fixed upon for disbanding the army. 
The day previous, Washington issued his farewell address to his 
troops, replete with friendly advice, and kind wishes for their pres- 
ent and future welfare. After taking an aifecting leave of his offi- 
cers, he repaired to Annapolis, where Congress was sitting, deliv- 
ered to the president his military commission, and declared that he 
was no longer invested with any public character. 

After his resignation he retired to his estate at Mount Vernon, 
— followed by the gratitude of his country, and the applause and 
admiration of the world, — where he applied himself to the peace- 
ful pursuits of agriculture. Greater than Cincinnatus art thou, 
Washington ! 

CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 

After the dangers of war w T ere over, the "Articles of Confedera- 
tion" were found to be insufficient for the proper administration of 
government. Congress had no revenue, could not redeem its paper, 
and much of it was sold for a sixth or eighth of its nominal value. 
Thus the soldiers of the Revolution at last saw their expectations 
of pay cut off. 

In accordance with a proposition by the Legislature of Virginia, 
commissioners from several of the states met at Annapolis, to form 
a general system of commercial regulations. But, feeling their 
authority too limited to accomplish what was needed, they adjourned, 
with instructions to advise the states to appoint delegates, with 
more ample powers, to meet the next year in Philadelphia. 

In May 1787 those delegates met in that city, and organized by 
choosing Washington (delegate from Virginia) President. After 
four months deliberation, the Federal Constitution was unani- 
mously agreed to by the members of the Convention, on the 17th of 
September ; and being presented to Congress, it was by that body 
transmitted to the several states for their consideration. Being 
accepted and ratified by eleven of the states, it became the Consti- 
tution of the United States in 1788, North Carolina and Rhode 
Island dissenting; but the former adopted it in 1789, and the latter 
in 1790. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 509 



FIRST PRESIDENT. 



George Washington. — According to the Constitution, the sev- 
eral states elected their delegates to Congress, and by a %manimous 
vote chose for the first President of the United States General 
George Washington, 

Bidding adieu reluctantly to Mount Vernon, to private life and 
domestic felicity, he proceeded without delay to New York, where 
Congress was assembled. 

In this journey no Roman conqueror ever received the honor of 
so glorious a triumph as did the "Father of his Country." The more 
glorious, because it was spontaneous, enthusiastic, and merited, — 
the gushing forth of the nation's heart in gratitude to its deliverer. 

On the 30th of April, 1789, he was inaugurated President of the 
United States. The ceremony was performed in the open gallery 
of the City Hall, in New York, where the oath was administered, 
in the presence of a vast multitude of spectators. Great was the 
event of that day to hitherto troubled America. 

At the same time John Adams was chosen Yice-President ; 
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State ; Alexander Hamilton, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury ; Henry Knox, Secretary of War ; Edmund 
Randolph, Attorney-General ; and John Jay, Chief Justice of the 
United States. 

Washington administered the government during eight years, — 
the same length of time he commanded the armies of the nation. 
During his administration France called upon America for assist- 
ance, under the Directory ; but Washington's policy was that of 
neutrality,. 

Declining a second reelection as president, — after a valedictory 
address to the people, replete with political wisdom, and breathing 
the warmest affection for his country, — he withdrew again to Mount 
Vernon. 

During Washington's administration the State of Vermont was 
admitted into the Union, in 1791 ; Kentucky, in 1792 ; and Tennes- 
see, in 1796. 

John Adams. — He was chosen second president, in 1797. Dur- 
ing his administration France entered into hostilities and aggres- 
sions towards the States for refusing to assist her. The American 
government assumed the attitude of defence, and General Washing- 
ton was again made commander-in-chief. 

Not long after accepting this office, Washington died suddenly, 
at Mount Vernon, on the 14th of December, 1799, in the sixty- 



510 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

eighth year of his age. The death of this great American pro- 
duced an impression without a parallel. The people, upon a recom- 
mendation of Congress, wore a badge of black crape on the left 
arm for thirty days, as a token of spontaneous and unaffected grief. 
Eulogies were pronounced, funeral processions formed, and a gen- 
eral aspect of mourning was put on throughout the country, — a 
nation mourning for its revered Father and Deliverer. 

In Adams' time, parties ran high. Those for the Constitution were 
called Federalists / the opposition men, Anti-Federalists — after- 
wards, Federalists and Democrats. The former charged the Dem- 
ocrats with partiality for France. This was retorted upon the 
Federalists with the same for Great Britain. 

After a term of four years, Adams was succeeded by 

Thomas Jefferson. — He was third president. During his term 
— which commenced in 1801 — the attempt to preserve neutrality 
in the war raging between Britain and France failed, from the 
jealousy of the two nations, lest neutrality should take liberties. 

In consequence of Bonaparte's excluding all English goods from 
the Continent, by his " Continental System" the British, to offset 
that, declared all the ports and rivers from Elbe in Germany, to 
Brest in France, to be blockaded, and all American vessels trading 
thither liable to seizure and condemnation. 

In November after, Bonaparte, in his JBerlin Decree, declared the 
British Isles blockaded, and no trade allowed with them. 

In November 1807, by the British Orders in Council, all neutral 
vessels trading with France were obliged to stop and j:>ay duty at 
some British port. 

To meet this, Bonaparte issued, in December, his Milan Decree, 
declaring all vessels confiscated that should pay any duty to the 
British. 

Seeing no alternative but to be devoured by either France or 
England, President Jefferson recommended an embargo to be laid 
on American shipping, and so keep it at home. But, in March 1809, 
that was removed, and Non-intercourse with France and England 
substituted. This, of course, brought all three of the interests into 
collision. 

An amusing incident occurred during these troubles, in a case 
where a British man-of-war came upon a French merchant-ship. 
The captain was taken, the ship plundered and sunk. While on 
board the British ship, at a dinner, toasts were proposed, when the 
insolent British captain gave for his, in presence of the French cap- 
tain, " Britannia rules the wave." 

In due time, an American man-of-war came in sight. A battle 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 511 

ensued, when the British man-of-war was scuttled, and sent down 
with the French merchantman, and the two captains taken on board 
the American man-of-war. Another dinner was given, and toasts 
prosposed, when the French captain gave his, in presence of the 
British captain, "Britanny rule de wave ! " 

The impressment of American seamen, and the search of Ameri- 
can vessels, by the British, irritated the Americans to the highest 
pitch. 

The State of Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1802. The 
Territory of Louisiana was purchased of France in 1803. 

James Madison. — He was next elected, and was fourth presi- 
dent, in 1809 — Jefferson declining a reelection, having served eight 
years. 

Under a variety of complaints, President Madison recommended 
to Congress the declaration of war with Great Britain. The bill 
passed the House by a vote of seventy-nine to forty-nine, and the 
Senate by nineteen to thirteen ; and on the next day, June 18, 1812, 
was signed by the president. 

Canada was again made a point of attack. The Americans were 
unsuccessful in Upper Canada, though at the battle of Queenstown, 
the British general Brock was killed. The American flag was, 
however, successful on the ocean. 

In 1813 there was considerable severe fighting in various parts 
of Upper Canada. The victory of Commodore Perry, on Lake 
Erie, over the British, was very much eulogized. General Harri- 
son gained quite a victory over the British, under General Proctor, 
near the Thames. The Indian chief Tecumseh was slain at the 
same time. The Americans gained a decisive victory at Chippewa, 
The repulse of the British at Fort Erie was about the last of the 
war in that quarter. 

General Prevost, receiving a reinforcement of fourteen thousand 
men, began an offensive war on the United States by an attack 
upon Plattsburg. The naval and land forces cooperated. The 
British naval force, under Commodore Downie, with ninety-five 
guns, and one thousand and fifty men, was defeated by the Ameri- 
cans, under Macdonough, with only eighty-six guns, and eight hun- 
dred and twenty-six men. While the fleets were engaged, General 
Prevost attacked the forts of Plattshurg, but was effectually re- 
pulsed by the Americans, under Macomb. The British lost two 
thousand five hundred, while the American loss was only two hun- 
dred and thirty-one. 

A British fleet entered the Chesapeake Bay in August 1814, ad- 
vanced, and landed the forces about forty miles from Washington. 



512 HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 

This army entered the city, and burnt the capitol, the president's 
house, and other public buildings, and retired without molestation, 
under General Ross. 

On the 24th of December, 1814, a treaty of peace was signed at 
Ghent, by which the great European quarrel, in which America 
became involved, was put at rest. Before this was known, however, 
in America, a British armament, under Sir Edioard Packenham, 
fitted out to attack New Orleans, arrived at that place. After suf- 
fering great hardships, the British finally made an assault upon the 
works (bags of cotton) thrown up for the defence of the city, on Jan- 
uary 8th, 1815, when they were dreadfully cut to pieces and repulsed 
by the Americans, under General Jackson. The British lost in all 
two thousand six hundred, Packenham being among the killed ; 
while the Americans lost only seven killed, and six wounded. Thus 
closed the war of 1812. 

The* State of Louisiana was admitted into the Union in 1811. 
Indiana, admitted in 1816. After a term of eight years, Madison 
was succeeded by 

James Moxeoe. — He was inaugurated fifth President of the 
United States in 1817. During his term of eight years the follow- 
ing states were admitted into the Union : Mississippi, in 1817 ; Illi- 
nois, in 1818; Alabama, in 1819; Maine, in 1820; Missouri, in 
1821 ; and Florida ceded to the United States in 1821, by Spain. 

Jofen" Quincy Adams. — He was sixth president ; inaugurated in 
1825. Tariff" Law enacted, putting duties on imports. 

On the 4th of Jidy, 1826, while the people of the United States 
were celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the American Inde- 
pendence, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died, in their 
ninety-first and eighty-fourth years of age. They stood first and 
second on the committee to prepare the "Declaration," in 1776. 
Jefferson was its author, and Adams its powerful advocate. They 
afterwards held in succession the office of president ; were at the 
head of the two opposite parties in politics ; and, after retiring to pri- 
vate life, lived on the most friendly terms, and passed out of the 
world together, on the Fiftieth Anniversary of American Indepen- 
dence. 

Axdrew Jacksox — Suppresses nullification in South Carolina; 
thwarts the United States Bank project. Arkansas admitted in 1836. 

Martix Van Burex. — He was eighth president; inaugurated 
1837. 

William IIexry Harrisox. — He was ninth president ; inaugu- 
rated in 1841. He died in one month's time after ; — the first death 
of a president while in office. 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 513 

John Tyler. — He succeeded to the office of president, from, 
that of vice-president. 

James K. Polk. — Inaugurated 1845. During his term occurred 
the war with Mexico. Texas admitted 1845. 

Zachary Taylor. — Inaugurated 1849, and died in one year and 
four months. 

Millard Filmore. — He succeeded, as vice-president, to the 
office of president, in 1850. California admitted 1850. 

Franklin Pierce. — Inaugurated, as fourteenth president, in 
1853. "Missouri Compromise" repealed, and Kansas excitement 
arose. 

James Buchanan. — Inaugurated 1857, and present incumbent 
of that high office of the United States of America. 

GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The Government of the United States is usually styled a Confed- 
eration, or Federal Republic. 

Each State makes its own laws for its internal government ; but 
what relates to foreign commerce, the coinage of money, the Post- 
Office Department, Army and Navy, etc., are confided to the Gen- 
eral Government. 

The United States Government is administered by a President, 
Senate, and House of Representatives, — the last two forming a 
" Congress." 

The Executive duties are divided between the six Departments 
of State : Treasury, Interior, War, Navy, and Post Office. The 
head of each of these departments, except post office, is called 
Secretary. 

The five Secretaries, with the Post-master General and the Attor- 
ney General, constitute the Cabinet of the President. Before recom- 
mending any important measure to Congress, for their adoption, the 
President lays the matter before his Cabinet, and asks their advice. 

The members of the Cabinet are selected by the President, and 
by him nominated to the Senate, which alone has the power of 
confirming their appointment. 

Besides the power to make laws, which is vested in Congress, and 
the power to execute them, which is vested in the President, there 
is a third power, called the Judicial. 

The Judicial power of the United States Government is vested 
in the Supreme Court, the Circuit courts, and the District courts 
of the United States. The duties of these courts are, not only to 
adjust differences between individuals, and to punish violations of 

65 



514 



HISTORY OF EMPIRE. 



the laws, but also to decide upon the justness of the laws made by 
Congress. The decision of the highest, or Supreme Court, is always 
final. 

The judges of these courts are nominated by the President, and 
confirmed by the Senate. They hold office during good behavior. 

Each State is entitled to two senators to Congress, who are chosen 
by their several legislatures, for a term of six years. 

Representatives to Congress are chosen by the people, for a term 
of two years. Every ninety-three thousand seven hundred and six- 
teen inhabitants can send one. 

The President and Vice-president hold office four years. Their 
election is made by a Convention of Electors, who are chosen by 
the people. 

The Vice-president presides in the Senate, by virtue of his office. 
In case of the absence or death of the President, the Vice-president 
officiates in his stead. 

The salary of the President is twenty-five thousand dollars per 
annum ; that of the Vice-president, five thousand dollars ; that of 
the members of Congress is three thousand dollars a year, and eight 
dollars for every twenty miles' travel to and from Congress. 

LIST OF IMPORTANT BATTLES, AND THEIR COMMANDERS. 



Red Sea, 

Gibeon, 

Troy, 

Elah, . 

Babylon, . 

Marathon, 

Thermopylae, 

Arbela, 

Zama, 

Pharsalia, 

Actium, , 

Rome, . 

Hastings, . 

Heights of Abraham 

Waterloo, 

Yorktown, . 

New Orleans, 



Moses, 

Joshua, 

Achilles, . 

David, 

Cyrus, . 

Miltiades, . 

Leonidas, 

Alexander, 

Scipio, 

Caesar, 

Octavius, 

Alaric, 

William, 

Wolfe, 

Wellington, 

Washington, 

Jackson, 



VANQUISHED. 

Pharaoh. 

Adonizedec. 

Hector. 

. Goliath. 

Belshazzar. 

. Darius. 

Xerxes. 

Darius Codo. 

Hannibal. 

. Pompey. 

Antony. 

Honorius. 

Harold. 

Montcalm. 

Bonaparte. 

Cornwallis. 

Packenham. 



TRAIL OF HISTORY. 515 



CONCLUSION. 

A review of what is presented in the foregoing pages may not be 
out of place, now that we have followed the " trail " of the genera- 
tions past through the dark wilderness of experiment, trials, con- 
flicts, and triumphs, into the open fields of truth, civilization, liberty, 
and religion. The "spotted" way is plainly marked ; but oh, such 
marks as along this pathway are found ! Were the reader assured 
at the outset that a throng of demons had gone along that way, he 
would be often reassured that such was the case, and the danger of 
finding out his mistake would not be at all serious. But when told 
that this is the trail of a people of one common origin ; that one 
Supreme God made of one blood all nations to dwell on all the face 
of the earth ; that these were brothers, and our brothers, the reader 
of history may justly be appalled and confounded. Well may he 
say, If this be our fathers' trail, as for the spots, an enemy hath done 
this, either before or after the fathers had passed. But hold, con- 
founded reader ! stand amazed ! let thy limbs shake, and thy knees 
smite ! believe or be damned ! — these are the fathers' spots ! What ! 
blood and — Silence, man ! an unbeliever's hell awaits thee unless 
thou receive it ; the fathers' spots are these ! Ah me ! with faith as 
a grain of mustard-seed, I believe ! Well hast thou done to take it 
in ! And learn thou from this not to do as they have done, that 
none after thee may have to say of thy spots, Ah me ! 

Yet, oh! with what tears of joy we behold amid the throng the 
worthies walking in the midst of these fiery trials, yielding nothing 
but their bodies to be burned and their goods to be spoiled, "keep- 
ing the faith once delivered to the saints." To these martyr-heroes 
of the Lord we owe, under Him, all that in church and state is 
worthy the name of religion or right ; and, with them, our motto 
should be, " To live is Christ, and to die is gain ! " 

The principal feature of this work is its division into two parts, 
which treat respectively of Religion and Empire. These two great 
branches of human interest are all-absorbing, and have been elabo- 
rately treated by other historians, but in a mixed form. To the 
theologian the mixed account of the world's affairs presents the 
great subjects of sacred and ecclesiastical history in such a tangle, 
that it requires a large amount of reading iofind the facts he would 
learn, and then no small amount of study and reflection to arrange 
them in their proper relation to each other and to contemporary his- 
tory. The same may be said, and with equal propriety, of the 



516 TRAIL OF HISTORY. 

statesman who is in search of facts pertaining to empire. And of 
the general reader it may also be safely said, that he will be aided 
more directly to an understanding of history by this than by the 
mixed style of writing. And finally, without undue egotism, and 
truthfully it may be said, that no other work now before the public 
treats these great subjects in the separate and parallel form — a fact 
that must go for what it is worth in the estimation of enlightened 
readers. Here it is, the ways of God with man, and the ways of 
man with God, are themes of wonder and instruction ; and whoever 
by their contemplation is inspired to a holy faith, or aroused to a 
noble patriotism, must be amply repaid for a perusal of the past, 
and better fitted for the discharge of his duty to his God and to his 
country. 

For general readers, then, this work must have a particular adapt- 
edness, since they have but little time to read, and hence a compact, 
systematic arrangement of the great body of history in this form 
will exactly meet their case. Neither can it be any impediment to 
the student of history who wishes to take a wider range than this 
volume embraces. The leading points herein set forth will not 
bewilder him for further research. In the Sabbath school, the Bible- 
class, yea, everywhere, may it have a mission for good to the causes 
of Christianity and freedom. 

Another important division is that of Ages. This sets clearly 
before the reader (see Diagram) the definite portions of the world's 
history, when particular sentiments controlled the public mind. The 
Patriarchal Age embraces that portion in which society was formed 
upon the sentiment that the parental model should be preserved. 
This continued until Moses' time, when the popular fancy took in 
the idea of transforming the head of a tribe or family into a chief, 
king, or hero; and so grew up the "Age of War for Power." Dur- 
ing this long season — from Moses to Christ — the nations of the 
earth were absorbed with the one idea of " Who shall be king ? " 
The decision of this question lay in the ability of each party to 
wield the sword. No great cause of humanity or philanthropy 
moved the nations to action, but all interests were merged in the love 
and acquisition of power. Julius Cassar felt the spirit of the times, 
and was often heard repeating a sentiment from Euripides, " that if 
right and justice were ever to be violated, they were to be violated 
for the sake of reigning." Behold an age spent in violating right 
and justice for the sake of reigning ! 

The introduction of Christianity engrafted a new feature upon 
the sentiments of the world ; or, in other words, introduced the 
" Age of War for Opinion." The question now was, not wholly 



TRAIL OF HISTORY. 517 

"Who shall rule ? but, with that, whoever rules shall have the right 
also to coerce all the ruled into the same faith as the ruler or the 
party in power. This, instead of lessening the occasions and abat- 
ing the lust for war, increased the number of disputes, and intensified 
the fury with which all parties flew to arms. Hence the fiendish 
barbarities of the dark ages ; hence the holy (?) wrath of men 
fighting for the faith ; hence the terrible meaning of the terms 
Catholic and Heretic, But these very abominations wrought their 
own overthrow ; for, while men were thus engaged, the discovery 
was made that it was all wrong, and a better way was sought and 
found. Yea, in the times of fiercest priestly persecution and most 
oppressive kingly tyranny, the great doctrines of Civil and Religious 
Liberty sprang up, were promulgated, and signally triumphed ; and 
so was introduced the fourth age. 

The Age of Consolidation dates from the establishment of the 
Reformation. The peculiarity of this portion of the world's history 
is the tendency to separation of civil and ecclesiastical affairs, or 
the rendering " to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the 
things that are God's." And yet all the while this separation is 
going on, a process of consolidation is also working like leaven in 
the whole mass of mind, in all lands of free Bibles, schools, and 
presses. The form this process is assuming is that of the perfect 
and triumphant working of the affairs of both church and state. 
In the United States, where the principle has been most fully ap- 
plied, the result is, we have a healthy, vigorous church, unpampered 
by government pap and untrammelled by state fetters ; and, on the 
other hand, a free, prosperous, and powerful government, ranking 
first among the nations of the earth, unburdened of excessive church 
rates, and liable to no papal interdicts. Thus we have the Patri- 
archal Age, represented by the chief magistrate of the nation ; the 
Age of War for Power, seen in the civil government of the country; 
and the Age of War for Opinion, gleaming forth in the religious 
liberty enjoyed by all peoples and tongues under the whole heaven. 
Thus the peculiarities of the three former ages, embracing so many 
thousands of years, are harmoniously blending, or consolidating, to 
form the fourth, which is and is yet to be infinitely superior to all 
that have gone before. This pattern of things must yet be applied 
to other than this nation, and is even now being rapidly clone. The 
advantage of such a state of things to this " wide, wide world " let 
the thoughtful ponder and estimate. 

Another item in the arrangement of the present work can be 
noticed by the reader with profit, viz., the Periods into which the 



518 TRxVIL OF HISTORY. 

work is divided. These have no particular reference to the Ages, 
but are, so to speak, the " spotted trees " along the trail of history. 
For example, the period from the Flood to the death of Joseph is 
a very definite section of history ; and it will be found, by a little 
attention, that most of the other periods, though less familiar, are 
not less pertinent and instructive. They have for the most part 
reference not to individuals simply, but to them as representative 
characters in the important events with which they stand connected. 

Another matter, which is not distinctly treated in the work, 
deserves notice ; that is, the relative distances and similarity of 
certain great events before and after Christ. The coming of Christ, 
and the ascendency of the Roman emperors, form the most impor- 
tant epochs in the history of Religion and Empire. From this point 
go back three hundred years (see Diagram), and we find the time 
of Alexander the Great, " conqueror of the world," moving the 
sceptre of power, for the first time, from Asia over into Europe. 
Come down three hundred years after Christ, and we find Constan- 
tine the Great, "emperor of the world," dividing the Roman 
world into East and West, and thereby changing the whole current 
of human affairs. Both these events pertain to empire, and are 
quite similar. 

Go back before Christ six hundred years, and we come to the 
captivity of the Jews. Here a lordly potentate assumed to stand 
between God and his people, and coerce them to bow to his man- 
date, and image even, and so change times and laws. Come down 
six hundred years after Christ, and we find the first Pope, or the 
captivity of the church. Here a lordly prelate assumed to stand 
between God and his people, and coerce them to bow to images, 
and thus change the worship of God into idolatry. Both these 
events pertain to religion, and are quite similar. 

Go back before Christ one thousand years, and we come to the 
time of Solomon's Temple, or the highest state of prosperity to 
which the Jewish nation ever rose. Come down one thousand 
years after Christ, and we find the " Dark Ages," or the state of the 
greatest depression Christianity ever saw. In this case the events 
are similar, but in the sharpest contrast, hence easy to remember ; — 
the Jews at the summit, and Christianity at the base, of the mount 
of prosperity. 

Go back fifteen hundred and fifty-five years before Christ, and we 
find Moses delivering the people from Egyptian bondage and the 
yokes of their oppressors. Come down fifteen hundred and fifty- 
five years after Christ, and we meet with the triumph of the Refor- 



TRAIL OF HISTORY. 519 

mation, and the church making its exodus from the dark ages and 
throwing off the papal yoke. Religious events both of them, and 
strikingly similar. 

Go back eighteen hundred and sixty years before Christ, and we 
are with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Shem, and Job. Come down 
eighteen hundred and sixty years after Christ, and we are literally 
in the midst of our own peculiar, wonderful time. 

Go back two thousand three hundred and forty-eight years, and 
we come to the destruction of the world by water. Look forward 
to two thousand three hundred and forty-eight years after Christ, 
and what impropriety is there in suspecting that then will come the 
destruction of the world by fire. There is no positive proof on this 
point, but the former was foretold and came to pass : the latter is 
foretold and will come to pass. By the contrasts we have made, we 
find such and such events, and of a similar kind, occurring at such 
and such intervals. Without, therefore, turning aside from this 
drift of thought, but rather forced along by the irresistible tide of 
facts, the mind is driven mightily towards the conclusion that then 
will be the consummation of all things. But again, the question 
returns, If God has turned and overturned, ruled and overruled, lo, 
these five thousand eight hundred years, to bring the world into a 
"consolidated" state for proper action, and as infancy is to age, so, 
will he not yet take a corresponding time to display his works and 
ways before countless millions yet unborn ? This query also presses 
us with such force, that between the two we are obliged to admit 
that " secret things belong to the Lord." 

By fixing the foregoing points distir ctly in the mind, as seen upon 
the Diagram, any person can easily, apidly, and retentively store 
away a vast amount of important hist -rical knowledge. 

"Westward empire makes its way." This statement is made 
strikingly true by all movements of the nations. That empire 
began in the East all admit ; and that Asia held sway over Europe 
until the time of Alexander the Great, is a very plain case. By the 
triumph of the Greeks over the Persians at that time, military 
prowess was yielded to the Western conquerors. The sceptre of 
power was next borne west by the triumphant Romans — Greece, 
Persia, and all the East lying prostrate at their feet. Upon the fall 
of the Western Empire, the sceptre of power was set afloat among 
the Goths, Vandals, and other Western tribes, until France and 
England attained the ability to lead in power ; and so westward 
again empire made its way. 

Empire having reached westward as far as the " Pillars of Her- 
cules " even, could not there be stayed ; but, with marvellous strides, 



520 TRAIL OF HISTORY. 

now proudly stands on the western verge of earth, and watches the 
setting sun. With France, England, and the United States the 
ark of power now reposes ; and, as no other three powers on earth 
can do, they together can dictate terras to the whole world. 

Westward religion makes its way also. The westward march of 
the Bible is as plainly marked as the footsteps of empire. In the 
extreme East also did God plant the Garden of Eden, and there 
and about there dispense his law. From thence it was removed 
west to Jerusalem, until " Shiloh should come." 

Just at the point of time when the Jewish nation failed to be able 
to serve as the trustees of the Lord's dispensation, a faithful band 
of apostles was sent forth west, even to Greece, Rome, Spain, and 
to Britain, preaching the everlasting gospel. Soon Christianity is 
made the religion of the Roman State. This fostering degenerates 
into the Papacy, when lo! France, Germany, and England rise and 
reject the Pope. The land of Palestine had fallen long before 
under the sway of the false prophet, and so the "Ark of the Cove- 
nant " was borne to the precints of the Pillars of Hercules also. 
After its rout at Jerusalem, the Ark of God continued among the 
"Philistines/' until it was safely, sacredly, and triumphantly placed 
upon the Rock of Ages, in Providence, Rhode Island. 

Religion and Empire having completed their westward tour, and 
in their course evolved the great doctrines of civil and religious 
liberty, and being " monarchs of all they survey," are gloriously ad- 
vancing in all that pertains to the pomp and circumstance of state ; 
and in church learning daily better and better how to " render to 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are 
God's." Besides this internal work, they are rolling along back, in 
the pathway of nations, an influence for good on the Old World that, 
like leaven, is destined to leaven the whole lump. 

The present movements in the East indicate very strikingly what 
impulse is seizing the masses ; and the day is coming when civil 
and religious liberty will triumph over the despotisms of Europe, 
or when heathenism, Mohammedanism, and Popery, must fall before 
the dominion of " the King of the Jews," our Messiah. 

We are now living beyond Bible prophecies, and have no pro- 
gramme of what is about to be ; but that a great Age is near, many 
voices unite in saying, " Lo, He comes ! " 



THE END 







Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: in pn 2002 

PreservatsenTechnoSogies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



